


A Battle Yet Seen

by EstherAle24_7



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Multi, Older Characters, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2019-09-13 17:28:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 49,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16896903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstherAle24_7/pseuds/EstherAle24_7
Summary: One decade after Sesshomaru has left Rin under the care and tutelage of Kaeda and friends, he finds that she has grown into a renowned beauty and demon slayer in the lands. Although the years have changed them both so drastically, they find that the most incredible change is yet to come.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fanfiction with an older version of Rin and the rest of the characters, taking place ten years after the death of Naraku. This is my first Inuyasha fanfic. Hope you all enjoy reading it, as much as I enjoy writing it.

Did you hear that My Lord?"

Sesshomaru slightly inclined his ear towards the small imp demon, an action though subtle, that encouraged the little green demon to continue.

"Exactly my Lord, nothing, these woods are too quiet."

"Are you so desperate for my conversation that you would talk of 'nothing', Jaken?" Sesshomaru replied in his unattached tone.

Jaken clutched his staff closer to him, "Well yes My Lord, I would, your voice alone gives me strength to continue on these endless journeys but I just mean that- ah ha!" Jaken shouted, throwing flames to the bush on his left and incinerating the plants around it.

Sesshomaru cast his gaze on the demon in wait of an explanation.

"That bush was especially quiet." Jaken reasoned.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at the small creature in annoyance and Jaken could feel a cold sweat crawling down his back.

"I shall now follow the bushes' example and remain quiet my Lord." He promised.

Sesshomaru scoffed, if there was one thing that even he could not do, it was getting Jaken to be quiet for any length of time.

They continued into the depths of the forest and Sesshomaru, although besides himself, noted that Jaken was right. The woods were too quiet, far too quiet for one that was known to be crawling with demons. He could sense them, the lesser demons in the thick of the woods and beyond the trees, yet they made no move towards himself or one another. It was almost as if they were asleep, something he knew to be impossible, for demons didn't need such things.

Something was amiss and in his lands, he wanted to know why.

"Jaken." He said.

"Yes m'Lord?" Jaken replied.

"These woods belong to Kimimaru, have it be known that I seek his audience before my foot meets the next road. That or I will incinerate these woods and every demon in it, including you."

Jaken gasped and then quailed at the threat.

"I'm afraid that's impossible My Lord! These woods no longer belong to Kimimaru the grass demon, he was cut down some time ago!" Jaken wailed.

Sesshomaru stopped and Jaken bumped into him and fell over.

"Cut down?"

"Yes, by a demon slayer." Jaken gasped.

Sesshomaru turned to look at Jaken who was brushing himself off.

"A human? A human killed Kimimaru?" Sesshomaru asked in mild disbelief.

Kimimaru had run these woods for centuries and had pledged his loyalty to him, he was strong, not too bright, but resourceful. Many of Sesshomaru's enemies had fallen by Kimimaru's hand, a hand skilled in combat in addition to his gruesome strength, no single demon slayer could possibly cut him down and survived.

"Yes M'Lord and now it is she who commands these woods." Jaken finished.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, "A human woman slayed him and plundered his land?"

"Y-yes M'Lord." Jaken stuttered as he took in his master's appearance.

Sesshomaru didn't know whether to be angry or impressed, a human who had dominion over demons, she had to be of considerable strength and if it were any other woods he wouldn't have stopped to care, but these woods were on his lands which made them his property. He wouldn't have the demons in his land fear anyone but him, especially not a human.

He started walking deeper into the woods again and Jaken followed in confused silence.

"Jaken." Sesshomaru said after a long while. "The demon slayer, bring her to me."

* * *

 

"Hime! Hime!" The little demon cried as she jumped into the woman's lap.

The woman picked her up and offered her the fruit in her hand, "Misuri, you came to visit me today." She beamed.

Misuri, the young fox demon nodded and mirrored the woman's smile showing her small fangs. "Yes Hime, I have a message for you." She told her eagerly.

"Can it wait until after lessons today? We still have so much to review." The woman countered.

Misuri face contorted into that of worry.

"What is it Misuri?" the woman asked.

"Hime's so strong and so kind, Hime's so beautiful and soon you will leave us." she said sadly.

"Hey, stop that, I'm not going anywhere for a long time."

Misuri shook her head and looked up at the woman who smiled down on her.

She was gorgeous, her long deep brown hair curtained her shoulders and enveloped the upper half of her body. Her face was flushed with a pink undertone as she smiled and allowed the sun to paint her cheeks delicately. Her full lips parted over her clean teeth and gentle milk brown eyes poured over the little girl as she gave her, her undivided attention.

Misuri reached up and touched her cheek softly.

"It's not safe for you Hime, there is a big danger, one we cannot fight, you have to go away. You have to leave us."

Shock rippled across the woman's face before a serious composure over took it.

"What's the message Misuri?" she asked calmly.

* * *

 

Sesshomaru sat at the base of a tree with his eyes closed as the sun warmed his skin. He could smell him before he could hear him; he reeked of fear.

"What is it, Jaken?" he said.

"I am sorry to disturb you M'Lord, but it seems we have a problem." He informed him.

Sesshomaru opened one eye and looked at the demon coldly.

"It would seem that none of the demons I have encountered know of or are willing to divulge this slayer's whereabouts. I believe many of them are loyal to her and if they are not, then they must certainly fear her."

Seshomaru closed his eye and took a deep breath. Yes, the human woman who had slayed his henchmen. He'd taken such a liking to resting by the tree that he'd almost forgotten about it. The woods were indeed peaceful, he appreciated the silence and the subtly of the demons who lived so quietly there; no doubt an influence of this woman.

He stood up and looked at Jaken expectantly. "Take me to these demons who are loyal to her."

Jaken nodded and began to head into the woods with Sesshomaru behind him.

* * *

 

She fastened the swords onto the back of her outfit and tightened the sash around her waist, from which hung another assortment of weaponry.

It was the dead of night but she could feel the dark presence in the air gathering. A fight was coming and she needed to be ready.

She'd stayed too long here, she scolded herself. She'd become attached and now the demons here listened to her and called her Hime. It was no surprise that a powerful demon sought to kill her now, he probably wanted to take the land and make it his own. After all, that was how things worked in the world of the demons.

She would slay the beast and get going, this way the remaining demons could live naturally (and hopefully peacefully after her influence).

She took her braided ponytail and pinned it into a small tight bun atop her head before pulling on her hooded mask; a gift another slayer had given her in case she'd ever come across a demon who spewed miasma.

Just then another young fox demon busted into her hut unannounced.

"Hime!" he screamed. "He has Misuri! He's going to kill her!"

She channeled the anger that reigned through her and nearly growled her response. "Take me to him."

* * *

 

"Please My Lord!" Another demon begged him. "She's just a child, she does not yet understand to whom she was speaking!"

"Then should I take your life in her stead?" Sesshomaru offered.

The demon paled considerably and bowed in resignation.

He stiffened as he felt a sudden presence behind him.

"Try it and your head will roll at my feet." A cold muffled voice replied.

A sword swung at his hand and he dropped the small demon in his possession to dodge the attack. He hissed in surprise, how could he not have noticed the slayer come up behind him. She jumped back as well and braced herself for his counterattack, her feet landly softly on the ground barely making a sound.

She was light on her feet, Sesshomaru observed, it still doesn't explain why I didn't smell her from behind me.

"Hime!" the word was gasped and echoed amongst the crowd of demons.

Sesshomaru's nostrils flared, he would teach them obedience in her death and their subsequent torture, of this he would make certain. He drew his sword and rushed at her using his top speed knowing she wouldn't be able to counter at that speed.

She drew her blade in time to use it as her shield against his attack.

His surprise didn't slow him as he flanked to his left and prepare to slice through her midriff. Surprise stilled him as her sword met his again. He jumped back though she was too slow in her response.

She was too slow to follow his movements and yet she'd countered his attacks as if she knew they were coming. She flanked his right at what he assumed was her top speed and brushed her fingers against the sash at her waist before producing a sickle and chain. She launched it at him and he moved with no effort to avoid it, she swung three more times and as he went to dodge on her forth, she shot senbon needles from her right hand before swinging the chain in the other direction.

She was clever, she was using his speed and momentum against him. Another day, if he had the time, he would have humored her, but today he was in no mood to draw out the hopes of his prey before crushing them. With no effort at all he pulled to his other side and sent her own sickle flying back at her, she jumped up to dodge but couldn't manage completely as it grazed her ankle and exposed her flesh and blood.

Sesshomaru leapt then, to come over her and cut through her mask and into her skull until at the last possible second he smelled her blood.

Understanding and shock coursed through him just as he angled his sword and tore through her mask.

She gasped as her mask was split in two and as her body hit the ground with a thud. Miraculously she was, for the most part, unharmed.

"Hime!" she heard them screaming and whispering.

Despite the pain that shot up her back and threatened to paralyze her, she leapt onto her toes, drew her second sword and spun around to face her opponent.

She felt as though her world had come to a full stop and she stood there immobilized.

Seshomaru had already sheathed his sword and simply gazed at her dispassionately, as if he were already bored of what had to be the most daunting moment in her life.

"Run Hime." A little demon whispered from behind a rock.

"Now my Lord," Jaken said, "This is your chance to kill her."

Sesshomaru said nothing and continued to look at the woman before him.

Tears flooded her eyes as she fell to her knees.

"Forgive me," she cried. "Please forgive me Lord Seshomaru."

Sesshomaru made no move towards her and the demons in the woods watched on in shock, before following her example and bowing to him.

He took one last look at the girl before turning to leave.

Jaken watched as Sesshomaru walked deeper and deeper into the woods, leaving the woman, his enemy alive.

He turned to look at the woman and and scowled.

"He has shown you all mercy this time!" Jaken shouted. "But let this be a lesson to you, your loyalty belongs to Lord Sesshomaru and him alone!" he said before taking off after his master.

* * *

 

The large demon set the woman down at her hut and smiled.

"Thank you." She whispered.

She thought she could see the large demon blush.

"Of course Hime." He replied.

"Sagine." she called after him gently.

He turned to face her.

"Yes Hime?"

She sighed, "I wish you would all stop calling me that, that's not my name."

"But you are stong, kind, and beautiful like any Hime should be." He reminded her.

"My looks and my strength will fade with time," she said solemnly, more to herself than the demon in font of her. "And you are not my people to rule, you are demons, you only serve those who are more powerful than you and after the battle today-"

"We do not call you Hime because you bested Kimimaru in battle, though that is part of the reason, we call you Hime because your greatest strength has been your unyielding kindness. That strength has made these woods a safer place for demons and human alike. Do not doubt your power because you could not best Lord Sesshomaru in battle."

"Why didn't anyone tell me these were his lands?" she asked.

"Why didn't you ask?" he replied.

She shot him a baleful look and he smiled.

"Good night Hime." He said before leaving her. She walked tenderly into the hut and undressed as she prepared to bath in the waterfalls a short distance away. Sagine had attended to her injuries delicately but she was in no mood to allow them to heal patiently. She wanted to leave, as soon as she could. She would bathe, hunt, and leave.

* * *

 

He would be long gone by now and she knew she hadn't a chance of catching up to him. She scolded herself for the errant thought. She hadn't thought about him in so long, for as long as she cared to remember and now…after all that had happened she was sure of the one thing that had nagged her for years.

She wanted to go home; to Kaede, to Kagome and Inuyasha, to Kohaku…..to her friends and family. Her journey had come to an end.

She walked sorely to the waterfall and bathed in its refreshing waters, she let it soak her hair and body as she sobbed silently into the pouring pools of water.

Just as she had slipped into her kimono she heard a rustle and whipped her head to see Sesshomaru standing by the tree. Jaken popped up from behind him and smiled cruelly.

"You thought he was done with you?" Jaken boated. "You foolish mortal, you will-"

Jaken was cut off as he was met with a rock to the face.

The woman stood there, vulnerable and scarcely dressed before the demon whose eyes looked hungry. She dared not to move.

"Has so much time passed since I last saw you, Rin?" Sesshomaru asked.

Jaken sprang up off the ground in shock as he looked at the young woman before him again. He narrowed his eyes and tried to picture the toothy little girl who had followed them around for years growing into the woman before them.

Her hair was longer, her bust and hips full, her legs were long and strong; and though he would be hard pressed to admit it, the rumors that had preceded him of the demon slayer's beauty had done nothing to prepare him for it. She was beautiful, attractive even, and now he had to believe that this was the same Rin he once knew and scolded. It couldn't be.

"R-rin?" he said.

She blushed and smiled at him. As he saw the way her eyes lit up, he knew for certain it was the same girl.

She hung her head in embarrassment and sadness of the acutest kind.

"Lord Sesshomaru, Master Jaken….yes, it has been quite a long time since we last met." She replied.


	2. Chapter 2

"It's been ten years since the day you left the village after coming to see me. You'd given me gifts for my birthday and said you were off to claim what was rightfully yours." She smirked in remembrance. "Though I can understand why you didn't recognize me, I've grown some since then."

Jaken scoffed, "Some?" he drawled. "At the speed you humans grow, I've no doubt the next time we see you, you'll be dead."

Rin could feel her heart stutter at his words but forced herself to smile wearily before she shifted her weight, uncomfortably, onto her stronger leg.

"You're injured." Sesshomaru observed.

She blushed and opened her mouth to respond.

"You silly, foolish girl! Even now in your old age, you are as naïve as ever! You thought you could best Lord Sesshomaru in battle? Have you forgotten who he is? Have you forgotten who you are? And who you have sworn to serve? To be alive is only a fault of his mercy."

"Silence Jaken."

"Yes, My Lord." The demon said quickly.

"I didn't know it was you I was battling Lord Sesshomaru. I can't see much behind the miasma mask and-"

"Why are you here, Rin?" Sesshomaru asked suddenly, cutting her off.

"I only intended to pass through but I had to stay to look after the demon children here." she replied.

Sesshomaru gave her a chilling look before enunciating his words carefully. "Demons don't need looking after, humans do."

Rin flushed in frustration.

"Kimimaru," she started to explain.

"Was my henchmen and these woods, the demon woods, were under his management because I deemed it fit." a tight lipped Sesshomaru replied.

Rin didn't reply, part of her was in awe that this moment was even taking place while another part of her marveled at how loquacious a talker Sesshomaru was being. From what she remembered, he only spoke when he felt like it and there was never enough occasion to warrant it so freely.

However, a large part of her, larger than she could deny was angry. Outraged.

"He was torturing them." Rin countered. "He slaughtered their children, plundered their lands, and robbed them of their livelihoods. He was a monster."

"He was a demon." Sesshomaru hissed.

Rin was struck silent, taken aback by his tone, a tone of anger that he'd never directed at her. She couldn't begin to believe that this was this same kind hearted demon she'd followed for years, the same demon who protected and cared for her. Naturally, she remembered his being a bit rough around the edges, cold, distant, hard to understand but she never allowed that to deter her, because in spite of it all it seemed that he made a special effort to be kind to her.

Likewise Sesshomaru's mind raged with thoughts and unnamed emotion he could not place, and so he settled for the one he could identify. Rage.

Why was she here? He had gone out of his way to leave her in the protection of his idiot half-brother and friends. Now she had grown not only into a demon slayer, a work he could not condone her doing, but into someone that had the gall to defy him. To respond to him as if she were talking to an equal. Her eyes shone but not with the innocence he once knew but with an unyielding defiance that should have surely meant her end. This Rin was not one he knew and not one he cared for.

He'd outgrown her.

"Not all demons are monsters." She replied quietly.

His eyes narrowed, "And yet you've taken to slaying them." he countered.

Her full lips pressed into a hard line.

"Return to Kaede's village Rin and stay there." He said in a bored tone as he turned to leave.

Jaken watched the conversation between the two of them nervously, he too was shocked at how his Lord treated the woman. For one thing, he'd always preferred her to him and for another thing; she'd grown beautiful enough for her beauty to reputed among demons. Certainly, he thought, his Lord could make use of her in some way or another. If only to lure other demons out or keep her around as a keepsake, something to look at to pass the time, she had to be worth something. It seemed like a perfectly good waste to let her grow old and die in vain.

Although these thoughts weighed on his mind, Jaken turned to leave with his master and turned to steal one more glance at the woman.

"I'm not going anywhere." She said firmly.

Jaken, the dramatic creature that he was, fell over in shock.

Sesshomaru stopped walking and stood there for a moment; silently.

Rin marched resolutely up to the tree where he stood a moment ago and leaned on it for support. "I am not your ward to do with as you please, Sesshomaru. I-"

She choked on her words as she was pinned to the tree; Sesshomaru held her by her neck, her feet dangling off the ground.

"My Lord!" Jaken shouted in shock.

Her eyes widened in shock as she grasped his arm with both of hers in an attempt to hoist herself up and minimize the restriction of her air flow. She dug her nails into his arm and he watched as the poison that coated her nails tried to eat away at his flesh.

"Is that poison?!" Jaken shouted. "Are you mad woman?!"

Sesshomaru took note of what she was doing and tightened his grip on her neck while pushing her harder against the tree. A small whimper fell off her lips in response and she gripped his arms tighter and prepared to struggle against him.

"It's Rin, My Lord! Will you kill her?!" he exclaimed.

Rin glared at him viciously before a sort of acceptance covered her features and she released her grip on his arms. Her arms dropped to her side and she calmed down.

Sesshomaru listened to her struggling heartbeat, though she struggled to breathe, she had not yet asphyxiated because her heart had never climaxed in fear. He had seen the surprise in her face when he took her against the tree but even then, she seemed unafraid of him.

He dropped her and winced internally as he heard her gasp for air.

Jaken ran to her side, "Rin, you silly girl, are you alright?"

She nearly choked as she ripped air into her lungs, and as she lifted her head, she shot Sesshomaru a baleful glare.

_Perhaps she wishes to die_ , Jaken thought.

Sesshomaru stared back her evenly.

"We leave at dawn tomorrow." He told them. "Jaken, summon A-Un, I won't be slowed down by either of you."

"But what could you possibly mean My Lord?" Jaken spluttered.

Sesshomaru turned to face them once more, "I came here for Kimimaru, since he has been slain, Rin will come in his stead." 


	3. Chapter 3

"Come on, Master Jaken." Rin groaned as she tried to pull the small demon off the rock he so desperately held onto.

"I said no, you silly inept child! Release me!" He demanded as he hugged the stone desperately.

Rin tugged a little harder before thinking better of it and letting him go, sending him flying into the stone.

"Fine," Rin huffed before smirking mischievously, "I'll just go on my own and when I die or fail to return, you'll answer to Sesshomaru yourself."

"That's Lord Sesshomaru to you girl and you will do no such thing." He said getting up sorely.

Rin cocked a brow at him and turned on her heel. "Fine, stay, when Sesshomaru comes; I am sure you can tell him where I've gone. Considering I go where I say I am going."

Jaken's draw dropped as he let go of a low gasp. She had to be mad.

"Has time made you dull? Have you forgotten his wrath? He'll kill us both!"

Without looking back, Rin waved over shoulder. "Goodbye Jaken, I'll see you later. Maybe."

With that she disappeared as she walked down the hill towards the bridge while Jaken paced the floor of the woods in turmoil.

The little demon paced so fast, he'd created a small storm of dust around himself before throwing his hand into the air and following after the woman.

"I don't want to die alone!" he shouted in pursuit.

* * *

 

He caught up to the woman in no time as he sprinted over the bridge and found her sitting on a stone and collecting the flowers that gathered around it.

Jaken threw her a withering look and prepared to scold her when she looked up and smiled at him in earnest; her cheeks warm and eyes bright, stunning him with her unprecedented beauty.

"Good, you made the right choice." She beamed. "I knew you would, let's go, the human village is just a little while away and I can get my supplies from there."

She placed the flowers she'd picked into the thick waves of hair that curtained her back and curtailed into a soft curl gently at its end. She took off in the direction of the village and Jaken shook his head to clear his mind before following her and mumbling incoherently to himself.

* * *

 

They reached the village shortly after the break of dawn and Rin sat down before an unopened merchant's booth and massaged her ankle.

Jaken looked up at the brightening sky and turned to his human companion.

"Rin…" he started.

Rin looked up at him eagerly, "Yes, Jaken?"

"What could you possibly be thinking?" he asked. "Lord Sesshomaru said we were to leave at dawn and now it is pass dawn and we are no longer at the meet up location, certainly he will find us and put us to death for deserting him. Even a child as naïve as you, must know this. So why and why condemn me with you? Have you forgotten it was I, that looked after you in your youth?"

Rin laughed as shook her head and then patted his own in assurance, "Oh Jaken, you haven't changed at all, have you? We'll be fine. For starters we aren't deserting him, I am just getting supplies. I cant fly off at a whim with nothing at my disposal as I used to, I've grown and I've become accustomed to the human life which means I cannot live without somethings. It's just silly to think otherwise, besides I sent Misuri ahead last night to tell my friend to ready my supplies for this morning. He'll only be another minute or two."

Jaken shook his head in disbelief as two young men approached the bench.

"Hime," they greeted her.

Rin smiled and laughed as they all embraced one another.

"Banri," she greeted the tall, dark hair muscular one first. "Haruto." she said as she greeted the small but just as muscularly built one. "How are you? How is your mother?"

The men blushed before her in subtle embarrassment.

"She's been well and so has the family since you took care of the plague of demons here. We can't thank you enough." Banri gushed as he walked over to the shop and unlocked the door.

"Yes," the one named Haruto readily agreed. "The entire town is indebted to you."

Rin smiled, "I am just glad to hear you are all doing so well." She replied. "It's more than enough payment for me."

"Misuri stopped by last night and told us to prepare a few rations for you. Are you leaving so soon?" he asked.

The disappoint in his voice was unconcealed and for the first time throughout the conversation Jaken's head moved back and forth before the blushing companion, Rin and this young man…..both young men, in suspicion.

Rin smiled meekly. "Yes, my presence is needed elsewhere."

"But won't you return to the village once your mission is done? You would most certainly have a home here." Banri reminded her from inside the small store.

"Thank you," Rin replied humbly, "But I can't promise much in the way of anything, I do hope our paths will continue to cross again. We've become such great friends."

Haruto blushed even deeper and narrowly avoiding meeting her eyes. "If Banri and I weren't needed here, I would follow you anywhere."

Rin opened her mouth to reply but Jaken was faster.

"Well it's a good thing you are needed here boy because you certainly aren't needed where we're going." He spat.

The young man flinched at the harsh tone of Jaken's voice before finally noticing him and glancing at him in wonder.

"Oh hello there," he said politely, "You're a small little guy, aren't you?"

"Why you!" Jaken started but Rin nudged him with her leg harder than she'd realized and knocked him over.

"Right," she smiled, "Where are my manners? Haruto this is Jaken, Jaken is Haruto."

"Hello Jaken." The young man said reaching his index finger out to the imp demon.

"Hmph!" Jaken stuck his nose in the air and turned in defiance.

"Please ignore him, he's very grumpy today."

"Ahhhh okay." Haruto easily complied.

Banri returned from inside of the small shop with a delicately prepared sack and confusion flitted across Rin's face.

"What's all of this?" she asked as he handed it to her. "I only asked for a week's worth of rations, I couldn't possibly afford any more."

"It's a gift from the entire village. These rations should last you at least a month. There are even a few treats we brought from passing merchants. Things to remind you of Kaede's village, things to remind you of us, and more. Please accept it."

The brothers bowed in respect and Rin blushed furiously as a shy smile came across her face.

"Of course. Thank you so much." She replied softly, her voice choked with unshed tears.

* * *

 

"Stop humming girl! At least have the decency to act repentant before Lord Sesshomaru. Perhaps then he'll spare us." Jaken snapped at her as they walked across the field and towards the waterfall where they had met up last night.

Rin laughed, "Oh Jaken, relax, we're going to be fine. You're overreacting and it's such a beautiful day, smile."

Jaken's frowned deepened. "How can I smile when I know I am going to die?"

Rin rolled her eyes, "Sesshomaru will understand Jaken."

A gentle breeze blew between them and carried his voice on the wind.

"You should hope so."

Jaken flinched and jumped at the sound of his voice and even Rin cringed at the tone. They turned around to find Sesshomaru behind them.

"My Lord!" Jaken shouted.


	4. Chapter 4

Rin sighed as she walked alongside Ah-Un, Sesshomaru was unimpressed by far. He walked ahead of them in agonizing silence and she was all too sure this was her punishment for having been late this morning.

Her eyes reluctantly turned towards Jaken, who glared at her viciously and mumbled under his breath. He caught her gaze and narrowed his eyes even more. She rolled her eyes and huffed out an exasperated breath. At least they weren't dead, just as she'd predicted but leave it to Jaken to see the bad side in everything.

In earnest she couldn't help but feel a little guilty, Jaken had ben scolded and then trampled on, she'd simply been ignored. She could easily understand his frustration, but she would never own up to it.

Her legs hurt from walking nonstop, they'd walked well into the day and past the evening, any further and they'd go through the entire night. Her ankle still throbbed and though she loathed to admit it, she was exhausted, they hadn't even stopped to eat or relieve themselves. In an effort not to slow them down or become more of a bother she said nothing, but she didn't know for how much longer she could continue without capitulating to her human needs.

She refused to say anything though, she wouldn't admit to still needing Sesshomaru to take care of her or mind her humanity. She was a woman now and a slayer, she could take care of herself and was more than capable of keeping up with him and Jaken.

Her internal turmoil flushed her face and when Jaken threw another scowl her way, he was met with a cold side glare that sent him stumbling off of Ah-Un's back.

Jaken fell to the ground with an umph and nor Rin or Sesshomaru glanced back at him.

Jaken jumped up, "Why you insolent little-"

Rin opened her mouth to reply but then suddenly Sesshomaru stopped walking and turned to face them.

Sesshomaru cocked a brow in their direction and they fell silent.

He looked at Rin for a brief second and turned back towards the road; Rin and Jaken sagged in momentary relief.

"We'll stop here for the night." He said.

Rin turned to go into the woods before Jaken's shrill voice stopped her.

"And just where do you think you're going?" he spluttered.

She rolled her eyes dramatically and Jaken narrowed his eyes.

In spite of her bad mood, she couldn't help but placate the small demon. It simply wasn't in her to sulk for long, a trait she loved and hated in herself.

"I'll be back." She promised.

"I forbid it!" Jaken shouted.

That did it.

Rin laughed, the sound washed through her and over the others in the group. Sesshomaru's ears perked up and toward the direction of the sound while Jaken glared mutely.

"Oh Jaken," she said when she caught her breath, "You really haven't changed at all have you?"

Jaken opened his mouth to protest before Sesshomaru spoke up.

"Take Jaken with you." He said without glancing in their direction.

"What?" Rin asked as if she hadn't heard.

Sesshomaru turned to look at her, a look that dared her to defy him.

Rin ground her teeth, her mood returning tenfold. "I don't need Jaken to come with me, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

Sesshomaru didn't respond and made himself comfortable at the base of a tree.

"These woods are teeming with demons Rin and your mortal senses are more useless in the night than they are during the day." Jaken explained simply.

"I need privacy." Rin said frankly. "You can't expect me to bathe in front of Jaken, I'm a maiden after all."

Jaken flushed a deep red that looked purple-ish beneath his green skin tone.

"Are you suggesting I would sink so low as to-"

Rin ignored him and glared at Sesshomaru who still paid them no mind.

She growled nosily and stomped off into the woods.

Jaken's mouth fell agape. "I'm talking to you!" he shouted after her, making no move to follow.

"Jaken." Sesshomaru said.

Jaken looked at his Lord who was glaring at him and then into the woods where Rin had disappeared.

Jaken blushed and looked down at his feet.

A low growl started to drum in Sesshomaru's chest.

"She is a young maiden now my Lord, of course you can see that her body has grown in proportion to her attitude, I don't think she'd take to kindly to my following her."

A rock was sent flying Jaken's way, which he dodged masterfully before chasing after Rin in the woods.

"Yes My Lord! Rin, Wait!"

* * *

Rin trying desperately not to run to give herself away in the dark veil of the night or further damage her ankle, walked as quickly and quietly as she could. She knew it was only a matter of time before Jaken would come and interrupt her peace. Once she made it to the river, she quickly stripped and made her way into the cool waters. She waded in the waters and let her thoughts run rampant in her mind.

Sesshomaru hadn't spoken to her all day, the only time he'd even looked at her was when he was forcing Jaken upon her as some sort of chaperone.

She let the cool waters work their remedy over her throbbing ankle and sank further into the waters.

Clearly he was upset about her blatant disregard for their less than timely departure this morning…or maybe, she thought, maybe he'd always been this quiet and brooding and ignorant of her presence. Maybe she'd always been an invisible hindrance to him.

Sadness coursed through her fresh and strong, a sadness she hadn't felt in years. She'd left Kaede's village nearly a year ago for the sole sake of finding him and being of some use to him. He'd clearly forgotten about her or perhaps he felt she was nothing ut a burden to him, but in the course of those ten years, she'd trained. She trained long and hard with Inuyasha, Kaede, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and especially with Kohaku so that when she'd finally caught up to him, he would finally see some value in her.

She would train until her legs gave out from under her and even then she'd pull herself up with her arms to remain standing before her opponents. Along the way she had saved so many lives and made countless friends but nothing sufficed her, because she only sought to be of use to him. Yet now, when she'd finally found him, she'd realized they'd grown apart.

No. They hadn't grown, she had. She had become someone else, someone Sesshomaru did not like or care for and though Rin had grown up confident, in herself, her skill, her morals and so much more; the thought hurt her to her core.

She loved who she was through and through, she was indepednet, outspoken, defiant (something Inuyasha and Kaede had told her far too many times) but she was goodhearted, strong, and brave. She had worked to become all of those things and she would be damned if she would change who she was for anyone, even…even Sesshomaru.

And yet, that was the crux of the matter.

Who was she, if she wasn't Sesshoamru's Rin?

She let her body float into the night as she counted stars and muttered in frustration to herself when all of a sudden...

"Do you wish to die?" Sesshomaru's harsh voice asked.

Rin popped out of the water and turned to face the voice, Jaken popped up from behind the stone where Sesshomaru's gaze was cast.

Rin screamed in shock before anger coursed through her, she picked up a stone and nailed the little imp demon in the back of the head.

"Jaken, you pervert!" She shouted.

Before Jaken could even defend himself, the rock sent him flying and Sesshomaru grabbed the other individual behind the rock. A young man who he held by the neck, who squirmed in his grasped, and then looked back at Rin in a desperate plea.

"Haruto?!" Rin gasped as she threw her hands over her body, in an attempt to cover her nakedness. Though her arms were not enough to cover her, fortunately her long hair shielded her most intimate parts as she ducked quickly behind another stone.

* * *

Sesshomaru tightened his grasp on the boy's neck.

"Please." He choked out.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin called out to him, her first real address towards him over the course of the day. Her shock limited her sentence to just one word. "Please."

Sesshomaru looked the boy and then at Rin, Rin's eyes began to prick with tears and Sesshomaru dropped the boy. He landed on his tail bone, clutched his throat and began gasping for air.

Rin ran across the river to meet them on land and before she could, she was struck still as Sesshomaru began to pull off his own out kimono and handed it to her.

"Cover yourself." He said in a hard tone that let her know it was not a suggestion.

She complied all too willingly and wrapped the large garment around herself, before running over to kneel beside Haruto.

"Haruto." Rin cried as her hands fluttered over him helplessly. "What are you doing here?"

"You know this mortal?" Sesshomaru asked. For the first time Rin glanced up at Sesshomaru who wore a light juban (undergarment of kimonos) that seemed fitted to his muscular chest and build. Her throat went dry as she took in his masculine shape, his broad shoulders and toned arms (both of them).

He stared back at her blankly and she realized he was waiting for her answer.

"He's a friend." She answered, her voice a ghost of what it had been just moments ago.

"Some friend!" Jaken snapped. "He's nothing more than a peeping tom!"

Rin pulled her eyes away from Lord Sesshomaru and knelt over Haruto who had finally begun to catch his breath and breathe naturally again.

"That can't be true, can it Haruto?" Rin asked.

Haruto grabbed her hands in his, "No. No Hime, please believe me, I didn't follow you all this way to disgrace you in such a manner. I left the village shortly after you did and thought I could convince you to stay. I got lost in the woods and I figured you might be staying nearby the river, after all even if your companions are demons, you would certainly have to stop for water. I'd nearly lost all hope of catching up to you when I saw your garments laying just beyond the trees. I had no idea you were bathing here, had I any clue, I certainly wouldn't have come but as I was already so close, I hid so that I couldn't intrude and so that you wouldn't feel compromised in anyway."

"Oh yeah?" Jaken challenged, "And I suppose you only watched from behind the stone to assure her safety."

Haruto flushed and gapped wordlessly.

Sesshomaru grabbed the hilt of his sword and before he could even unsheathe it, Rin dove in front of Haruto and grabbed Sesshomaru's hand still on the hilt of his sword.

"Please my Lord." She pleaded.

Jaken's mouth hit the ground, never in all of his years had he seen such a bold move.

Sesshomaru looked down at Rin; her face flushed, eyes wide, lips parted, eyelashes and hair wet. His outer kimono dwarfed her and yet still brought every curve and muscle to attention. He brought his sword back into the sheath and looked down impassively at the man who cowered behind Rin.

"Go and never return." He instructed Haruto.

Haruto grabbed Rin's hand and she turned to look at him in shock.

"Come with me Rin." He pleaded though his eyes bounced between her and Sesshomaru.

"Haruto." Rin replied in shock.

"Join me Rin, you'd live well off in the village, where people (human and demons alike) love and adore you. If you go, if you go with him, with them" he stuttered as Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed at him, "You might never return, you might even die. Please Hime, reconsider."

Rin held his hand gently in hers, "Haruto, your worries are unfounded. I'll be fine. Please go home."

"Hime," he pleaded, "you're not like them, you're a young maiden, with your whole life ahead of you. Don't you long for a family? A place where you belong?"

Rin flushed, this was the last conversation she wanted to have in front of Sesshomaru.

"Haruto." She said in warning. "I belong here, this is my place, these people have always been my family."

"Why you good for nothing ungrateful scoundrel, I knew you lusted after her! She is none of your concern! She is Lord Sesshomaru's ward. Her life belongs to him and always will." Jaken shouted boldly.

"Be with me, Hime." He finally said. "I can give you more than a family of friends, I can give you children, a home, a life worth living. Not as a ward, as a burden, but as a treasured wife, as a lifelong friend."

Rin smiled at him and he flushed, awestruck by her beauty. "We are already lifelong friends Haruto, have you already forgotten? You promised as much just this morning." Rin reminded him softly.

Even in the kindness behind her words, he could hear her soft rejection.

"Please Haruto, go home." She insisted.

"Hime-" he started.

A ferocious growl ripped through Sesshomaru's throat as he lunged at the boy, he'd grown tired of this, he'd scare the boy away.

Chills ran down her back and she instinctively covered her ears.

"Go Haruto!" Rin shouted.

Haruto scrambled unto his feet and started running, looking back only once to catch a final glimpse of the woman he'd come to love. The woman he left at the foot of a demon.

* * *

Rin watched as he scurried into the woods and let grief wash over her, her shoulders sagged and she turned to face Sesshomaru, her head bowed.

"Thank you." She said begrudgingly. "For sparing him."

Sesshomaru turned without another word and made his way back towards the camp.

Jaken sat on the stone and crossed his arms, his staff tucked into his elbows.

Rin looked at him through her big sad brown eyes and Jaken, again, was struck by her candid beauty.

"D-dress yourself woman! Before you catch a cold or worse, completely sully the Lord's kimono." He snapped.

Rin smirked at his absurdity but stood up and made her way towards the bank where she'd placed her clothing.

* * *

When she was certain she was out of Jaken's sight, she brought the kimono to her nose and inhaled deeply. It smelt so much like him. She sat by her clothing and brought her knees to her chest, rendering herself to this small moment of bliss, which was wearing his clothing.

He had to care for her, to some extent. She was certain. After all, would he have given his kimono to another naked woman? He hadn't to Kagura.

She took a deep breath and thought of the night's unfolded events.

She'd been proposed to and yet the only thing she could think of how she was wearing his clothing and how his juban had fitted him so well. She resigned herself and concluded she must be mad. Mad and yet irrationally content. She hugged herself a little tighter to keep warm and finally started patting her hair dry with her towel, Jaken would come for her soon if she didn't hurry.

She took off the kimono, hoping she hadn't drenched it too much, and before putting on her own clothes brought it to her nose once more. She scolded herself for such flagrant thoughts and yet couldn't find it in her to genuinely care; as no one was around.

Sesshomaru, sitting on an away branch from an ancient tree, watched as she held his Kimono to her face, before slipping into her own clothes.

He wondered idly what had made her so gleeful.


	5. Chapter 5

Rin sat by the fire in an attempt to warm herself, they hadn't stopped for three days and night. Sesshomaru was just as quiet as he had been and worse, Jaken was more talkative than ever. He prattled on and on about the woes he was now sure to face with Rin back at his side as a temptress and constant damsel in distress.

Certainly, the worst of the matter would fall on him and no one else, not even she who bore the burden most directly.

No, Jaken persisted that it was not enough having kept her alive and fed in her youth but now he'd do that and so much more and with as little appreciation from her as possible.

Rin smirked as she took in his pacing about, his genuine concern for his state of contentment. No, he hadn't changed at all and neither had their dynamic, he would blather on about something trivial and she would keep his company if only to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was heard.

"Oh Master Jaken, I wonder if you mean all that you say. Surely, you mustn't." Rin teased.

Jaken turned to scowl at her, "Of course I mean what I say, why else would I say it?"

"In jest." Rin replied before bringing a lone finger to her lower lip in feigned contemplation. "Or perhaps you speak so exaggeratedly for attention, either way it is not for your benefit alone and for that I thank you. Had it not been for you excessive talking, I might have died of boredom these last few days."

Jaken narrowed his eyes at her in firm disapproval only widening the smile that had grown pronounced on her face.

Unbeknownst to them, Sesshomaru watched on with mild interest.

This new Rin had a good-natured humor about her, teasing Jaken and yet managing to flatter him in the same sentence. She was witty and well spoken, she'd no doubt picked up this trait under the study of Inuyasha's human mate.

Yet in her voice he could hear her, the Rin he'd come to know, the Rin he watched over, the little girl who sought to please him and befriend Jaken. Even now in her jest, she words were warm and had no undercurrent of maliciousness; just like Rin. Except now her voice had an undeniable whisper of authority, of strength that spoke to her will and resolve. She spoke like a woman, a woman who could hold her own.

Jaken spluttered an ill-mannered response to which she laughed.

"Don't be upset Master Jaken, it's part of your charm. I for one, love it about you." She said as she brought her lips to the top of his head in an affectionate gesture she was certain he'd hate.

To her surprised Jaken blushed furiously, spluttered wordlessly before picking up his staff and marching away with indignity.

In truth, she loved Jaken's babbling; his stories and over dramatic quips often riddled her with laughter. No, the problem was that since the night at the river 3 days ago, Sesshomaru continued to pay her no mind, like a nuisance.

She sighed in frustration before forcing herself to speak to him directly.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked, her voice strong and yet soft, carried by the night breeze and bathed in the warm glow of her kindness and innocence.

He turned to glance at her, the most attention he'd given her in days and she took this as a sign to continue.

"Where are we going?" she asked softly. "And what business have we there?"

This was new. Rin asking where they were off to. Did it matter? She would follow him as she always had and without question. After all, that was the role of a vassal.

He humored her.

"There is a demon village in the direction of Tortoise Dragon (North East) that has been overrun by ogre demons. They've caused quite a ruckus in the area, do not pay their dues, they have also refused to swear their allegiance to me. They cannot go unwarned and unpunished." Sesshomaru replied.

Rin nodded, she knew there had been a heavy ogre presence in the NorthEastern area of the Western lands, Inuyasha and Kohaku had told her as much. They'd warned her to avoid the area at all costs as there was surely a war to come in response. Ogres, after all, were brutish and unnecessarily destructive so much so that once they'd encamped on an area, demons and humans alike would flee.

Kohaku had left Kaede's village two months before she had in an effort to aid the humans in the nearby areas. Though the Western lands were quite far off, Kohaku had made it his life's work to aid humans whose lives were disrupted by demons as he knew too well the feeling.

He slayed demons, helped build new villages, and trained new slayers all across the lands but even he was forewarned by Sango and the rest to avoid a battle with Ogres if he could, at all costs. Their size and brute strength was nothing to scoff at, especially when in a pack; which was the only way they seemed to travel now. It was no wonder Sesshomaru sought to face them, a disturbance of this magnitude required none other than the Demon Lord of the lands to intercede.

"Yes, I've heard talk of them, they are truly fearsome creatures indeed." Rin mused.

"Not only that but they've gathered a small army to defy Lord Sesshomaru, they must be made an example of." Jaken conceded.

"A small army?" Rin gasped.

Jaken nodded, "Yes, that is why we went in search of Kimimaru. To battle an army of ogres is no small task, Kimimaru is originally from the lands of the Tortoise Dragon. He must've no doubt had an army of his own at his beck and call."

Rin flushed. "I see."

"Do you?" Jaken challenged. "Kimimaru might have been slow but the demons of the Tortoise Dragon were loyal to him. Now we must ask for their help without his pull-"

"We will do no such thing." Sesshomaru replied.

"My Lord?" Jaken stated in confusion.

"I, Sesshomaru, will put an end to this strife alone by slaying the ogre king. His army, I will leave to you and Rin."

"What?!" Jaken cried.

Sesshomaru shot him a baleful looked that told him he was not going to repeat himself.

"Y-yes my Lord, I will fight for you until the end!" Jaken pledged.

"But you just said fighting a small army of ogres was no small task, Master Jaken." Rin reminded. "How do you expect us to fight one off?"

"You should've thought of that before you slayed Kimimaru!" Jaken snapped.

Rin balled her hands into fists, she'd landed herself in a sticky situation. Inuyasha and Kohaku, not to mention everyone else, had specifically warned her to stay away from the direction of the Tortoise Dragon and had told her to particularly avoid the ogre dilemma there.

A lone ogre demon could be outsmarted, outmaneuvered, and slayed. A pack would prove much harder to take care and its not like she carried demonic weapons as powerful as the Tessaiga or Bakusaiga. She brought her head to her knees in contemplation a habit she'd picked up in Kaede's village when she would ignore her caretakers and refuse to play with the other kids or when she'd just felt down and she needed to think of a way to cheer up.

"Are you frightened, Rin?"

Sesshomaru's deep voice caused her head to snap up and his direct address caused her face to burn.

"N-no." she answered. "I will do my part and I will do my best. I live to serve you Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru studied her face for a moment, there was a burning resolve in her eye and tension pulsing out of her body. He couldn't understand what this meant and didn't want to think of it further. He'd spent the last three days studying her and he would do it no longer.

"How foolish." He mused quietly.


	6. Chapter 6

Rin gasped as she launched up from her sleeping mate and clutched at the skin and muscle covering her heart. She was dewed in sweat though the night's temperature was more than fair and she wore a light sleeping kimono or nightgown; a gift Kagome had given her a year ago.

"What is it, Rin?" Sesshomaru asked from the tree he sat under.

He'd seen her toss and turn, constantly fidgeting in her sleep while the sweat on her temples gathered and matted the hair on her face. Her heartbeat ran spiked just before she'd jolted out of the cot and scanned her surrounding environment.

"It's nothing my Lord, I'm sorry to have disturbed you." She replied in a soft voice as to not wake Jaken, who lay comatose before A-Un.

This Rin he could recognize, her eyes grew big, her face pale and her voice meek. She was scared.

"You still dream of the wolves." He stated in bleak surprise.

Rin opened her mouth to deny it but as the brown of her eyes met the amber glow in his, she knew it was futile. The nightmare plagued her from her youth well into the years of her adolescence and would revisit her sparingly as she entered adulthood.

She tucked a handful of loose hairs behind her right ear and hung her head just slightly in silent affirmation.

"It is a thing of the past, Rin, they will never harm you again, no one will. I promise." Sesshomaru vowed.

Rin's eyes widened in shock as she acknowledged and recalled the promise he made to her almost nightly in her youth when she'd been frequented by the nightmares. She remembered how those words alone would soothe her into a sound sleep.

She smiled ever so slightly. "You remembered." She said in a hushed and flattered tone. Her voice still soft and husky from her sleep. Her hand still remained over her heart as she waited for her heartbeat to succumb to its natural rhythm.

"Of course." Sesshomaru sniffed.

Rin smiled at the slight offense she could hear behind his tone, a subtle difference that no one other than Jaken and herself could have picked up.

"I just meant that, I am surprised. I didn't think you would care to remember it. It was so silly after all, having to reassure a child every night after a nightmare." Rin explained.

Sesshomaru looked at her evenly. "Trauma is not a symptom of the weak, Rin. You need not feel shame."

"I don't." she replied quickly.

Sesshomaru arched a brow in her direction, subtle amusement crossing his features at her poor deception capabilities.

"Have you always been so obstinate?" he asked dryly.

Rin smiled and shrugged, "No but living with Inuyasha will make anyone more stubborn and defiant than they ought to have been. I'm sure."

"I see." Sesshomaru conceded.

"They're doing well by the way. Sango and Miroku are expecting their fourth child, while Kagome-chan and Inuyasha are expecting their first. They've settled quite nicely into their new lots in life."

Sesshomaru didn't reply though he was surprised that the halfbreed brother he tried often to forget about would produce an heir and with the strange priestess no less.

The child would no doubt be part demon, though how large or small that portion would be, was a complete mystery. He wondered idly if the priestess would pass on her power to the child as well, even he had to admit that the child would sure be a marvel to study if indeed he did possess the powers of a priestess and a demon. He had to give it to the rambunctious half-demon, he sure kept things interesting.

"Shippo is bigger now, he trains to become one of the strongest fox demons." Rin paused to smile. "Though I don't know that brute strength will be his compliment, he would do much better if he focused on outwitting his enemies." Rin continued as her heartbeat fell back into its normal rhythm and her face grew brighter in the joy she took in speaking of her friends.

Though Sesshomaru couldn't care in the least about the trivial information she provided, he felt no need to cease her speaking as it brought her back to the present and away from those gruesome nightmares.

"And Kohaku?" she said softly as she grinned and shook her head in mild disbelief and astonishment. This caught Sesshomaru' s attention. He could care less about the demon slayer boy who'd followed him for such a brief period of time. What he cared about was the way Rin's voice almost caressed his name while her molten chocolate warmed and then fell to the ground as if they were sharing the secrets her full lips and flushed face refused to divulge.

"I wouldn't know where to start. He's done so much, grown so much. He went back to the demon slayer village and rebuilt it, he uses it now as a shelter for children, where he teaches them to slay demons. naturally, there are adults there too who have learned from him and who run the village as no child can do so alone but the good he's done there is nothing compared to what he does now. He crosses the lands and freely gives a hand to people and villages in need. He teaches them to hunt, slay, build homes and once he is done doing what he can for one village, he moves on to the next. It's incredible." She breathed. "He even found time to train me."

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed as he studied the young woman before him.

Perhaps something had happened between her and the boy, over the course of the years. She was no longer a child after all and the last time Sesshomaru laid eyes on the boy he was well on his way into adulthood. This could be why she'd refused the boy at the river the other night or perhaps why she'd yet to enter into a betrothal, when clearly there was no lack of offers. Even he could see the beauty the demons and humans had come to fawn over; her body was full and yet slight, strong but soft. There was an innocence and yet a maturity in her demeanor, and certainly the demon slayer she spoke of so affectionately would have seen this in her.

Perhaps she was truly a woman now.

He cast the thought away, he wouldn't do her the disservice of thinking so basely of her. After all, though she'd grown into something he had yet to fully understand, at her core she was still Rin; good and innocent. She would never debase herself and go unmarried or travel without her companion, if indeed he was that. No, she was still just a young maiden. Of this, he was certain.

Nonetheless, he'd never heard Rin talk about anyone with such poignant adoration. No one but him and despite the fact that this Rin was no longer his Rin; the innocent, good-natured, and brave child he had all but reared, something in him was slighted and displeased by hearing her praise.

"Have you recovered from your nightmare, Rin?" he asked pointedly though she was still prattling on about the boy.

The question pulled her up short and she smiled sheepishly.

"Yes, thank you." She replied before taking her lower lip between her teeth and smiling anyway.

She settled back into her cot and was soon sleeping soundly, her color still pooled in her face and coated in a new-found peace.

 _ **Kohaku**_. Sesshomaru thought with a mild annoyance.  _ **Hmph**_.


	7. Chapter 7

As the earth beneath her moved from side to side, her eyes opened only to be to be greeted by the sun poking its way through tree tops.

"You've finally awakened Rin!" Jaken exclaimed.

"Huh?" She said a bit disoriented.

"Time with the humans have made you lazy Rin. You must not continue this way, you are only burdening Lord Sesshomaru." Jaken scolded her.

She sat up a little and realize she was on A-Un's saddle as the creature followed dutifully behind Lord Sesshomaru.

"I must've overslept." She realized. "I'm sorry."

"Yes, well don't let it happen again. You've already sealed both of our fates, the least you can do is wake up on time."

Rin yawned and stretched, "You sound upset Jaken, I thought it was your honor to die for Lord Sesshomaru." She reminded him. "Or did you say that in jest?"

Sesshomaru barely turned his head in their direction and Jaken nearly seized in fear, "Of course it is my honor to die for him, I could never jest about such a matter."

Rin smiled tiredly, "Don't worry, it won't come to that because I'll protect you." She promised.

Jaken's jaw dropped and hit the saddle of the two headed beast before he fell over with laughter.

"What's so funny?" Rin asked.

Jaken clutched his stomach as he waved his staff at her and then slapped his knee before leaning on it for support and continuing to laugh.

"What?" Rin asked again.

"You?" he exclaimed. "Protect me? I'd be better off facing the ogres alone!" he laughed.

She opened her mouth to reply only to be cut off by his insistent laughter.

Rin rolled her eyes, a trait she'd picked up from Kagome while staying in the village, and thought better of it.

Her goal was not to impress Jaken after all, it was to impress the demon she was following. Perhaps by defeating the ogre army, he would see her as a resource, though she still hadn't contemplated how exactly she would do that.

How big exactly was a small army? How tactical or strategic were they? And how exactly could she outsmart all of them? Her physical strength was impressive for a woman her age, but it certainly wasn't her greatest strength and it was nothing compared to her coming foes. She'd always been able to out strategize and outmaneuver her opponents, speed and agility helped more often than not, but a small army was not something one could easily outrun or even anticipate in movement. It would be chaotic and she would have no one, save Jaken, to watch her back.

She sighed before she sat up fully and combed her hair with her fingers so that it was pulled towards the left side of her features, the rest draped her body as she brought her arms around her knees to organize her thoughts. A task she was finding surprisingly difficult this morning.

Admittedly she'd been a bit disoriented when she had woken up, she couldn't remember how old she was the last time she'd woken up on the two headed dragon's back with a nagging Jaken at her side. For years she hadn't been sure if she'd ever experience such a thing again, most nights she dreamed of waking up like this after all that would mean she was with him again but every morning she'd woken up in the Kaede's hut or if she'd needed space, in the tree across from her hut.

A smile tugged at her lips as she realized that waking up here meant that in spite of all the years that had gone by, she was back where she belonged.

She looked down at Jaken who was still chatting excessively though she'd stopped paying attention long ago, she looked around and saw the full forestation that surrounded them. Her eyes narrowed as she peaked through the gaps in the trees, suddenly she slid off the back of A-Un and walked towards the sound of a bubbling stream.

"Hey!" Jaken called after her.

Rin looked at the stream carefully before picking up a pebble and skipping the small stone over the water. She watched as the stone sunk just before midpoint of the stream.

She nodded to herself and walked back to the small entourage, continuing to walk alongside them as if nothing strange had happened. Though her eyes kept focus on the stream without fail until she focused on Sesshomaru who kept walking as if there were no cares in the world.

A small line furrowed between her brows in frustration and contemplation. Surely, he knew. She was not daft enough to believe that she could have seen it, when he couldn't. Was this some kind of test? Or was he truly unbothered?

"I must say, you have grown in beauty Rin but you've become even more strange too."

Jaken continued to prattle on, mumbling under his breath about her strangeness when she decided that her curiosity had reach its peak. She huffed in annoyance and walked towards the stream stopping at the tree line.

She tucked herself behind a tree facing away from the stream and facing her companions, who watched her warily. She brought her hand over her chest and pulled out a small spear like object, Sesshomaru watched her with mild interest, the corner of his lip twitching in amusement.

Her eyes were sharp, even a yokai like himself who primarily relied on his sense of sound and smell, found that this prey was not easy to detect if one's senses were not astute.

As Sesshomaru had stopped walking to observe the girl, Jaken jumped down from the two headed dragon, waving around his staff as a near extension of his tiny arms; a frown marring his green complexion.

"What are you-"

Suddenly the water from the stream shot forward and towards the little demon, the nearly transparent demon looked to be made of water with only black antennas at its head and sharp rows of teeth, distinguishing it as such.

Sesshomaru's body moved in preparation, without his explicit command, to leap towards her but as he looked on he resisted the urge in order to truly observe her.

While Jaken screamed facing his oncoming doom, Sesshomaru watched as Rin who had swiftly pulled herself up into the leafy top of the tree, lithely spun out onto a sturdy branch and threw the spear like object in her hand with precision.

It whizzed through the air and as he caught the smell of it; he paced back and brought his sleeve to cover his face as it made contact and exploded in a flash and smoke. Suddenly, he felt the dispersed water hit him with unprecedented force, marking trees down in its path.

As he lowered his arm, he watched as she sat comfortably on the limb of the tree with a smug expression on her face.

Jaken moaned as he struggled to get up after the dizzying blast. Rin slid off the tree to go help the little imp demon, taking him into her hands and starting to perform basic CPR on him by compressing his chest. He watched on as she vehemently annoyed the little demon who squeaked insults at her while compressing his chest, before reaching behind her and offering him a flower while laughing.

Jaken snatched the flower from her hand and tore it apart causing her to sit back and laugh as the wind danced with wisps of her hair. Jaken, flustered in her midst, started spluttering out incoherent sentences and Sesshomaru found himself intrigued by the scene.

In this moment, she looked as if she were still the innocent flower child that followed him around without question, except now she was taller and more like a lady. A young lady whose beauty did not speak towards the way she just dismembered a demon that most humans and lesser demons would not have been able to detect. A young woman who did not need his constant saving.

Sesshomaru shook off the water the drenched him, not unlike a dog, seizing their attention.

Rin flushed as the motion left a barely noticeable shade of pink beneath his cheeks and a shine to his impeccable white mane of hair.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" she called out to him.

He turned to gaze at her, an indication of response for him.

Her eyes darted towards the stream and he immediately understood. "Can I-"

He turned back around and waved his hand dismissively in her direction. "Go." He said not needing an explanation from her.

"Jaken." Sesshomaru said, as the green imp prepared to follow her dutifully. "She has exceeded the level of protection you can offer, leave her be."

Rin smiled to herself as she went down the river alone to freshen up.

Jaken's heart swelled with relief. He was certain that Rin would not be pleased about being followed again. "Yes, My Lord."

* * *

 

"I did not know you possessed such a talent, Master Jaken." Rin said absent-mindedly, playing with the flowers in her hand as she sat saddle side on A-Un. Her hair was loosely braided, her face fresh, and her clothes changed (her demon slaying outfit beneath her simple traveling kimono) since her freshening up earlier that morning.

"What talent?" Jaken asked as he looked up at her from where he walked alongside them.

"Being quiet for any length of time." Rin quipped. "Truly, I underestimated you."

Jaken threw a scowl in her direction.

"Well maybe you should take example."

"You don't mean that." Rin said as she turned to lay on her side and smile down at him. "I think you're happy I'm back. Now you can talk without fear of punishment and I certainly listen more than….well more than I used to."

"Don't be ridiculous." Jaken snapped. "I could care less that you've returned, it only means more work for me."

Rin laughed a tinkling and mischievous little laugh, that sounded all too gentle in her womanly voice.

"Ah, well we both know that's not true." She teased. "I guess I'm not as useless as you once thought. Perhaps now you'd be willing to leave your life in my hands than face the ogres alone."

Sesshomaru over hearing their conversation couldn't help but be amused though his features did not show it.

She'd been able to detect the water serpent with ease and destroyed it without much effort, it was an interesting spectacle but just that. The ogres would be something else entirely, something he was sure she had to understand, after all she'd slayed Kimimaru; no small feat. It was clear that her greatest strength lied in her wit and not her physical strength, yet he had to admit after having fought her himself it was enough to keep her alive but again nothing to brag about.

Perhaps she teased Jaken now in simple rebuttal to his quips this morning, after all she'd proven she was not as helpless as she formerly was but that meant nothing before any real demon. Thinking otherwise would seal her fate and before he knew it, Sesshomaru found himself unamused by his train of thought.

"Rin." He said addressing her for the first time today.

She looked up at him in earnest, her eyes beseeching his.

"Enough."


	8. Chapter 8

He held the hilt of the sword in his hand as it pulsed gently. It seemed the sword knew where his thoughts lie as he watched the girl sleeping before him.

There was nothing about his character that he had avoided examining like his affection for her as a child and now as a woman. He would not insult his own intelligence by pretending that he did not care for her in some way or another.

He'd gone to great lengths to protect her, he'd kept her fed and clothed all the years they'd traveled together, and he'd even left her among her own kind to thrive. Her loyalty, kindness, and her lack of fear were traits that he appreciated about her since she had been a child but he also knew that the same traits contributed to her naivety and would subsequently contribute to her third death if he didn't leave her to her own devices.

In time, he thought, she would fade away into the recesses of his mind as a memory. Her life would be peaceful and fulfilled, she would marry and have children who would be as fearless and trusting as she was and perhaps he'd come across their children a century from now.

Instead she grew into an enigma that refused to be ignored, her existence inexplicably tied to his. A fact he could not deny with Tensegia at his side. Even as his hand tightened around her throat that night he knew, he knew that killing her would kill the only part of himself he did not yet know and that he so desperately could not understand or forsake. The part of him that held both his strength and weakness, the part of him that he knew would only be discovered in her presence.

He noticed the girl has been oddly quiet the past two days as they continued to travel. Yet, it was not unlike the Rin he knew as she occupied herself with flowers, fruits, and the good humor in Jaken no one else seemed to understand.

She was quiet, content, and yet contemplative as she sat down with a flower in hand with her arms around her knees. As his eyes began to follow the curve of her lips, pursed together in hushed conversation, he decided that he'd had enough of her silence.

* * *

"What are you thinking, Rin?" he asked as Jaken prepared the fire.

She looked up at him her brown eyes growing in surprise.

"I'm sorry?" she replied, confounded by his interest.

"You've been very quiet." He noted. "Since you slayed the water serpent."

That wasn't true, he realized. She'd been quiet since he'd told her to be and perhaps (he thought) she was only following his orders, perhaps now she knew her place and would hold her tongue.

How truly unlike her that would be and how dull it would make her. Did she think he was upset with her? Did she fear him now? Did he want her to fear him? Not now, not as it hindered her speech.

He chose his next words carefully, as to draw out the long-awaited smile he couldn't admit to himself that he was waiting for.

"I did not know you possessed such a talent, perhaps I've underestimated you." He continued.

Rin's chocolate eyes widened before warming, melting, and shining in response; her face lighting up and her smile finally creeping onto her face as if it were just coming out of hiding.

"I've heard the wise are slow to speak." She replied wittily.

He cocked a brow at her in intrigue as he wondered how to respond.

Jaken nodded walking over and sitting beside the two headed dragon. "This must be true, the great Lord Sesshomaru speaks so little that one might believe he is mute, thus he is the wisest and I-"

Suddenly Jaken moaned as he rubbed a lump growing on his head from the rock that had beamed him.

Rin shook her head in exasperation for the small imp and yet couldn't help but smile.

"Nonetheless," Sesshomaru continued, "I'd rather hear what you have to say or we will both have only Jaken to listen to. Surely, that is not the choice of the wise." He muttered.

Rin's smile grew more pronounced in agreement.

"I was simply thinking of strategy, after all one cannot go into battle with metal and muscle."

His eyes narrowed, "And what have you come up with?"

"Nothing of substance." She said easily. "I was hoping you could tell me more about the land and about the way they fought, from there perhaps I could devise a plan that could yield better results."

Spoken like a true strategist, he thought, smart enough to think before acting and humble enough to ask without shame. Had she been a yokai, this talent would have surely been appreciated in his court, but she was a mere maiden, with a fragile concept of time and a weaker concept of her constitution.

"Do you consider yourself a warrior, Rin?" he asked suddenly.

The question didn't pull her up short like he supposed it might, instead she sighed, and an expression of exhaustion coveted her features.

"I don't know what I am." She admitted.

She got up and sat in front of A-Un, pulling out a piece of fruit from behind her kimono and feeding it to the two headed beast, petting it softly and reveling in its sounds of contentment.

* * *

It was true, she didn't know what she was. She hated killing, it was truly against her nature, but like all living things she yearned to survive. More, she wanted to survive by his side, where there would be bloodshed and turmoil, if she did not possess her own strength she would surely be a burden to him.

A burden.

She had been a burden her whole life, she'd been a burden on the village that took her in after her parents died, she'd been a burden to Lord Sesshomaru after he'd saved her, she'd been a burden for years to Kaede who only sought to look after her, a burden to Inuyasha when she tried to run away countless times…..eventually she had grown tired of the role. It had taken time but she had finally learned to be strong, to carry her own burdens so that she wouldn't be one to others and that meant becoming both a slayer and a caretaker. In order to be both she had to be a strategist, she had to understand her weaknesses and her strengths, and know how to use them to her advantage. Although this was true and had led to her success as a slayer, it was no secret that more often than not, she was a lover than a fighter.

She tried to use her words before using force, and sometimes it worked. Most times however it came down to her or the enemy and it couldn't be her; she had a purpose, something to live for. She hadn't learned to be a demon slayer in order to slay, she learned in order to survive.

The kami had been kind enough to bless her with eager friends, humans and demons alike, who respected and shared her ideologies. Her kindness shun through her and so through her justice prevailed. Yet, she was a walking contradiction, an oddity.

She did not belong. She was no warrior, she did not seek battle, nor did she find a thrill in it. She was not some fair maiden whose goal was to settle, marry, and bear children; she had a different purpose she was sure. So, what was she?

The question ransacked her mind and hid behind her smile.

The only time she ever felt right was by his side and so it was there that she was determined to stay.


	9. Chapter 9

Jaken stared at her dumbfounded, for he truly could not comprehend if the girl was missing a screw or simply determined to damn them both to a death so painful even the kami would shudder.

Sesshomaru looked at her in his usual detached manner attempting to understand the woman before him, her sword drawn and eyes fixed.

"Well," she goaded him, "Come on. Unless, unless you fear me."

Jaken set down his staff and marched firmly behind the fireproof scales of A-Un where he would certainly be safe from the coming onslaught.

He would mourn her, miss her smile teasing ways.

Sesshomaru cocked his side to the side, both intrigued and contemplative.

"You want me to attack you?" he clarified.

"Yes." Rin answered.

"For what purpose?" he asked, his digits twitching to grab the hilt of his sword. Unlike Rin, battle was part of his nature and something he did not need to be provoked to enter.

"I'd imagine anyone who can stand their ground against you, can fair well against an army." She explained.

It was a simple and yet mislead rationale, one that should have ultimately led to her death but as he grabbed his sword, Tensegia and not Bakusaiga, he was aware that he was consciously choosing to spare the girl. Instead of allowing the decision to vex him, he simply admitted to himself that killing her would not bring him the joy he so usually gained in ending the lives of those who spoke against him and in this respect, she was different.

Indeed this new Rin, which is what he referred to her as, was different and yet not so different. However, if it was a battle she sought, he would not go easy on her. He would bring her within an inch of her life and that would be more than enough mercy.

Rin smirked as he withdrew his blade.

"Understand it is not your goading that has led me to draw my sword." He told her frankly.

"Of course My Lord, you simply hope to humble me in this exercise." She replied. Secretly she was beyond pleased that he hadn't just told her to stop wasting his time, she would be training with Lord Sesshomaru. This would be like nothing she had ever experienced, she was sure, it wouldn't be like training with Inuyasha or Kohaku, where they would dote on her fragility or womanhood. Sesshomaru would not hold back, well not as much as they did she hoped.

"Hope?" he asked, testing the word. "Do you truly believe you can best me?"

Rin narrowed her eyes and unsheathed her second blade, "I suppose we will find out."

For the first time in a long time Sesshomaru smirked, this Rin was interesting. The Rin he knew before had been unafraid and it was something he had learned to accept and cherish in her. This Rin was daring.

"I expect you to be able to travel without complaint after your loss; I won't be slowed down by your injuries." He warned her.

Rin didn't reply, her face a mask of calm and subtle interest, in response however she smirked.

Sesshomaru rushed at her and was not shocked as even with her slow speed in comparison to his own she was able to again block his sword. This time he observed her, she moved always in response to him almost like a dance she allowed him to lead. He came at her from the front and both side and finally for her back, the only time where she reacted defensively without having waited for his previous action and he realized she was studying and training herself on the pacing she would need to keep up with him.

She was truly brilliant.

She could never hope to match his speed, this was known, but by remaining n the defensive in the first half of the fight and allowing him to attack her repeatedly, she was mentally training her muscles to react to him at a particular speed. This meant she didn't have to necessarily be faster, she just had to know when he was coming for her. He had only noticed this when she dodged his attack from behind her, a blind spot.

He had barely begun his movement when her muscles coiled in preparation and pushed her off the ground to flank to her right.

She wielded both swords like a true master, practiced in her craft and ever unintentional in her strike. Nonetheless she was still centuries out of her league. As her sword finally met his, he easily overpowered her, angling her swords toward her weaker grip with ease before she eventually dropped the sword in her weaker hand and used her more dominant grip to wield her sword up suddenly and spin out from his grasp, pacing way from him with her back turned.

This would be her fatal mistake, he noted, turning her back to the enemy. He lunged after her and in what he could only deem as an electrifying moment, with an accuracy like no other she flung her sword back at him without a second glance.

She had mimicked his exact attack on Jakotsu and Suikotsu from the band of seven all those years ago. Her sword was aimed to pierce right above his armor and into his chest, and had she been fighting anyone else perhaps it would have. It took little effort for him to adjust his movement just slightly in order to dodge the attack. Just as he had, he heard a sudden crack, the release of a bow.

Between her digits where nearly invisible senbon needles that reeked of poison, and as she lined them up within the bow and released them, he found himself undisputedly impressed. His poison whip knocked them all to the ground and just as he began to walk towards her, he took in a smell of sudden heat.

He looked down and noticed that beneath his feet where the poisonous needles had landed, a black soil had been laced. The senbon needles began to burn up and as they did he heard the familiar sound of a chain.

He looked up and admitted that this Rin, was truly a sight to behold. Her demon slayers attire was similar to that of Inuyasha's back. Black, form fitting, and covered pads and sashes that protected them and sheathed their house of weapons. Her face resembled nothing of the old Rin, there was no smile on her full lips or the gleam of joy in her brown eyes. Her face was drawn in seriousness, her eyes glinted of a collected and cool determination. Though the exercise had began to take its toll on her, her heaving chest slowed with every passing breath as she examined and prepared for her current and next attack.

She spun the ball and the end of her chain before letting it hit the ground, while gripping on to the sickle and chain, in preparation.

Amused as he was, Sesshomaru decided it was time to end this. He sent out the force of his youkai, extinguishing the flames and just barely affecting their surrounding landscape, forcing her to throw her sickle into the ground to keep from being pushed back.

In that same moment he stood before her grabbing her by her neck and to his surprise instead of panicking, she grabbed his arm in both of her hands and pulled her body up, using a foot to kick off his chest and bring his neck between her now crossed legs in a headlock. She used all the force in her lower body to yank him down, causing them both to the ground.

He released her throat and locked his jaw as he received a kick to the jaw as she tried to scramble away and back towards her weapon.

"Enough!" He growled as he grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her against the gravel away from her weapon. He'd initially wanted to toss her across the open area but he knew her body could only take so much.

Rin however was not done, in a final effort, she picked up a rock beneath her and slammed it onto the hand that dragged her across the ground.

Then, minding his strength, he tossed her against the tree.

Her body landed against it with a thud and an eerie feeling of relief washed over him as his ears awaited a sickening snap of bones that never came. He warred with his subconscious as he took into account the ways he could actually cripple or kill the girl, but acted against it.

He needed to end this now before he forgot to mind her physique.

Before she could get up she found a glowing set of claws aimed directly at her heart and the tip of a sword, she knew could not cut, at her jugular.

She looked into the gold eyes before her, that suddenly did not seem so emotionless and certainly not angry as she would have expected him to be, but speculating. She hadn't even finished catching her breath when he walked away once more uninterested.

She let go of a breath, she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"Well." She called out breathlessly, waiting for him to say something.

"We're going." He replied.

"That's it?" she huffed. "I'm not done yet."

"Jaken, A-Un." He summoned.

The two headed dragon and little imp got up to follow behind him and as Rin stood there catching her breath, Jaken, whose head was cradled between his arms during the entire exercise shook his head in the greatest confusion he'd ever known.

* * *

"You were going easy on me." Rin said bitterly a few hours later as thy continued to forge through the forest.

Sesshomaru just barely glanced in her direction.

"Yes." He said simply.

Her porcelain face when from a light shade of pink to a hot undertone of rouge.

"Why?" she asked sharply. "If you won't train seriously with me-"

Sesshomaru stopped to face her suddenly and her words halted. "Your physique lacks strength, your weaker grip will cost you your life against a trained swordsman, and your strategy though commanding needs refinement." He told her frankly.

Rin flushed, "I disagree." She said boldly. "You have centuries on my 2 decades of life and I think-"

Sesshomaru coked a brow at her in amusement, "I thought you had asked for my opinion not an echo of your own." He reminded her.

"Yes," she flushed. "But-"

"Let me remind you where you stand and what your purpose is here. I did not seek you out to train you nor do I have any intention to wait until you are ready to claim what is mine. Your opponents will not take into consideration your decades to their centuries in battle, battle is battle." He told her. "We will arrive in 4 days' time. I suggest you do what you must to prepare yourself for then."

Rin's lips pressed into a hard line, her brown eyes sparkling with what he knew was concealed rage. A new look that must have belonged solely to this new Rin, as the old Rin knew nothing but happiness.

"We're going." He said as he continued walking pass where she grounded her feet and balled her fists in frustration, her ebony locks curtaining her flushed face.


	10. Chapter 10

He had no power of his own, well no mystical power and yet he could feel the pull of her magic in the air. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he finished washing in the manor, having returned from yet another mission.

He bent down before him and picked up the small basin of water, pouring it over his face as he carefully thought over the mission.

It had gone well and according to plan, he had lost no men and yet here he stood playing it over and over in his mind's eye. It was his calling, his life's work, to make sure all missions went this well and so he would study the mission repeatedly. Finding ways to make the next mission more efficient, safer, and more expedient.

He sighed as the memories of the kill began to fade and other memories tried to overcome him. He gnashed his teeth together and opened his eyes; ripping a gasp of air into his lungs and shaking over the sudden chill that clothed his body. With great effort he pushed them aside and continued washing his body.

* * *

As he lay on the futon in his private chamber, he wondered idly what she could be doing this far out. She was nowhere near home though he knew she had left quite some time ago.

Home; it was a place he hadn't thought of often. He had moved so much in his youth, seen so much, experienced so much he didn't know if he could call anywhere in particular a home. He tried not to let his mood sour as he thought of the sacredness of a home, no physical location had given him the asylum he so desperately sought.

He recalled the children that ran up to him and his men today, bowing gratefully for their safety and asking them for a game. He indulged them and his men by staying to rest and play. After all, it had been so long since the villagers had relaxed, so long since the children had laughed.

Although the demon that had been plaguing them had been slaughtered, he could see the residual grief on the faces of the mothers who had done all they could to protect their children during such a time. Women who had no doubt lost their husbands, children, and faith.

He knew all too well the feeling, he was a demon slayer after all. He knew loss came with the job but these people were victims. A title he also knew well.

He played with the children while his men sought out provisions from the forest for the village families and for their impending trip. He played until the children laughed breathlessly and until the mothers smiled reluctantly.

This too was part of the job. Part of his purpose. Restoring lives; even if only for a moment.

Just as she had done for him.

His lips quirked up into a smile as he recalled chasing her through the fields at harvest time, her hair flowing behind her like a cape, her laugh embellishing the air rushing pass them and enchanting the sun into lingering in the sky for a little while longer while they played. Her voice caressed his name and bound his heart as her feet pushed against the soil of the earth before hiding behind the long stalks of vegetation.

The game was never fair, after all he'd vowed to find her anywhere. He could feel her, feel her light, her warmth, pouring out of her like a stream and she hadn't the slightest clue.

As he popped around the corner, he would watch as the burnished sun in her eyes lit up with surprise and glee. Her full shapely lips would part over her teeth and bless him with the only jewel he sought in life; her smile. She'd laugh and laugh as she surrendered to his merciless tickles, her soft, lean body under his hands.

Finally admitting defeat, she would blush in his arms or on his back as they made their way back to Kaede and the others for 'punishment', another day in the sun by her side.

Yet his evenings by the stream where he would bare his soul to her was where he could really see her beauty for what it was. That was when he found it.

Home.

* * *

The next morning as he sat in a meeting with his men he found that the gruesome face of life had reared its head yet again as another village in distress reached out to them. the growing ogre population was an issue no one could contend with lightly.

He did not hesitate to dispatch men immediately and prepare the reinforcement team soon after. He had a job to do. Even if it meant he moved further away from her approaching light away from home.

As he picked up his small bag, Yun, his right-hand man observed him.

"What is it Yun?" he asked, his low grovel voice rumbling in his chest.

The young man beside him smiled and clapped his back.

"Did you sleep well? In the arms of your phantom?" he joked.

He laughed in response.

"She's no phantom Yun."

"Yet no one else has seen her." He teased.

He chuckled reluctantly. "I have a feeling we'll see her soon enough."

"Oh?" Yun replied. "And how do you know this?"

"The sun rose and did not set last night." He muttered as he fixed his belt.

Yun threw him a look of disbelief.

He smiled. "For the first time in a long time, the darkness of the night was not following by the darkness in my heart. I slept as if I were whole again. It can only mean one thing. She is near."

Yun laughed and shook his head, "And so naturally you leave to battle with no promise of return. How will your phantom ever find you?"

Kohaku smiled.

"She won't have to, as I've vowed to always find her."


	11. Chapter 11

Rin laughed as Jaken continued to lecture her about her lack of ladyship, she poked her tongue out at him and watched as he went from green to purple.

They were one night away from what would undoubtedly be the most dangerous battle she would enter and although she was sure in her ability, it did not make her cocky or arrogant.

She knew very well that Sesshomaru gave her a task he knew she would have to see through alone, without his aide. This would be where she proved herself a worthy companion or a naïve child. If this was going to be her last day in their presence, she would not regret it, she would laugh to her heart's content until the next sunrise demanded otherwise.

She walked closely behind Sesshomaru now, smiling all the while.

* * *

She never ceased to surprise him. As they neared closer and closer to the battlefield, her contentment knew no bounds.

" _Do you consider yourself a warrior, Rin?" he'd asked last night._

Just as soon as the question had left his mouth, the campsite was filled with her downplayed scent; sadness.

This life of fighting was not one she had chosen easily, this much was clear and yet as they approached what could easily be her undoing; the cause of her demise, she was unwavering. Perhaps she was a warrior after all and just did not know it, he mused.

Though as he watched the young woman who trailed behind him now; the new Rin, he could hardly believe that her newfound glee was due to the possibility of lives she would have to reap.

No.

Like the old Rin, she simply did not have the degree of malice or awareness necessary to pity herself. She could find no unhappiness within her to exude, she simply chose not to dwell on the negative and so the only thing left was the positive.

He watched as her hair tumbled over her back as she laughed at Jaken's expression. The melodious sound cosseting his sensitive ears and engrossing his inner spirit and youki. He scowled at the effect but said nothing.

Now as she stood closely behind him, he found he could not help but to keep glancing at her, though her flushed face pointed in every direction but his own. He decided then to ignore her as he did all else, when suddenly she spoke up.

"Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru." She said melodically, as if they had been engaging in conversation all along.

He cocked a brow in her direction and her bright brown eyes finally met his, though hers was chagrined.

"For allowing me to accompany you," she breathed, "and for allowing me to stay at your side, thank you." She said as she bowed and smiled up at him, unleashing the full force of her beauty upon him.

Her parted full lips, flushed face, bright brown eyes and cascading hair in full effect, capturing him in her spell.

His eyes widened, and his breath caught in his throat as he felt an unfamiliar and yet recognizable warmth stirring within him.

He didn't reply and instead snapped his mouth shout in reply.

Rin took no notice, suddenly he watched as her mouth fell open and her eyes lit like new flames, "It's a village." She beamed.

The town stood beautifully beside the water's edge overlooking what seemed to be pastures and fields of undisturbed green land. The livestock and greenery populating the area in abundance only bothered by the children that seemed to run past them in their games.

Rin smiled as she threw a hand over her eyes to shield them from the glare of the sun. She had never truly belonged in any human village. She'd known this from a very young age, after all, she spent so much of her life within the confines of those villages. She could never seem to fit in, do the right things, say the right words. Somehow, she always managed to find herself alone or ostracized by her peers though after her time with Lord Sesshomaru, she had come to care naught of such trivial matters.

Even when she had stayed in Inuyasha's village, she had very few friends as no one seemed to be able to understand her. Kohaku and Shippo aside, she didn't have any friends her age. The girls who tried to befriend her found her odd, as she preferred to train rather than play or dress up and the boys her age at the time either teased or ignored her. Of which, she preferred the latter.

As of late however, once she'd reached what Kaede and Kagome deemed an appropriate age, she seemed to draw attention everywhere she went from young women and men alike. The young men in the village, who had once teased and ignored her, flocked to her for attention and would often treat her with acts of kindness that she couldn't quite understand. They made offers and promises of marriage that she neither sought or wanted and to make matters worse they constantly interfered with her training; something Inuyasha was none too pleased about himself. If they didn't follow her to the fields then they'd watch from a distance, or worse they'd try to make themselves of use, which they soon found out was no aimable task.

She remembered how both Sango and Kagome had sat down with her, warning her to be weary of her feminine charm. Something that in their line of work could be both a gift and a curse. She'd been young and naïve when she brushed it off, now she was sure it was nothing short of a hinderance to her cause; serving her Lord. Yet she found if she lived a more nomadic life, she wasn't subjected to being an oddity, a bother, or some prize to be won. She was treated as a guest and could see how living a simple life in a village could be pleasing. When she traveled it seemed that most men weren't bold enough to confess to her after only a short week of acquaintance, so she could watch as they worked the fields or played with the children. Many women treated her with kindness during those times because there wasn't enough time for them to become envious of her.

Though she could never truly understand why they would be anyway, because yes, she had come to realize at a certain age that she was beautiful, but she was not vain. In her eyes the only beauty in life was having it be fulfilled and Rin was not fulfilled in these villages. How then, could these women envy her, when they possessed what she wanted? Fulfillment, self-indulged purpose.

Nonetheless, as long as she didn't stay too long she could understand and even appreciate the pull of a human village. She was after all, human.

Thus, she strained her eyes to watch the village men play alongside the children almost too willingly and stifled a laugh as she recalled her own memories of being chased by Jaken, Inuyasha, or Kohaku in her own childhood. She imagined briefly what her Lord would look like chasing after a child, exhausting himself with laughter and glee. Though she knew all too well, that hell would just as soon freeze over before he played with children. After all he'd barely entertained her as a child and yet, she thought as a small blush crossed her visage, it had been more than enough.

He didn't have to look at her to know her eyes would be glowing with mirth and contrition, begging him to allow her to go. He looked at her anyway and immediately regretted it.

He felt his insides clench at the way her eyes implored him, beseeched him, moved him to submit to her demands. He couldn't stand this, the power of this new Rin.

His youkai stirred within him at her contrite expression and yearned to appease her. The feeling in the pit of his stomach shocked and repulsed him.

Was this what his relationship would be with this new Rin? Submission? He'd rather be skinned alive, slaughtered, and dragged throughout the nations by the ogres than have his youkai tamed by a human; be it Rin or anyone else. His compliance to her simple wish, her simple will, coaxing his youkai to readily and willing submit to her. He ground his teeth together and closed his eyes in concentration before snapping them open at her.

"No." he all but growled.

Her eyes widened in shock as she was taken aback by the sudden change in his demeanor.

Jaken too looked up, a bit startled from his position.

Sesshomaru watched her face as he readied himself for what, he did not know. It was not as if she would attack him and yet he tensed.

Rin looked over once more at the town and brought her bright eyes back to him as they continued walking.

"Okay." She said agreeably as she strode past his frozen figure.

Sesshomaru watched as she continued on, unbothered, and ground his teeth together at his own annoyance before following after her and soon over taking her in his long strides.

Jaken let go of the breath he'd been holding and brought his small hand to his soaring heart.

_That was too close_  he thought as he wearily eyed his Master.  _What has gotten into him all of a sudden? He acts more and more like a dog with a bone around her these days._

Suddenly amber eyes pierced his and he fell to the ground and bowed unrelentingly.

"Forgive me my Lord!" He shouted before he was met with a rock to the face.


	12. Chapter 12

As they took rest for the day, Rin carousing with A-Un and Jaken lounging lazily beside them, Sesshomaru became stock still as the unmistakable stench of smoke, blood, and decay assaulted his senses.

He turned his head towards the right, looking back at the path they'd taken to reach this small field, away from the village Rin had so eagerly sought to visit. His eyes narrowed.

_What happened?_

A-Un pulled one of its heads back and purred roughly in contentment as Rin graciously scratched behind the other's ear. The same head came in and nuzzled her on the side, its rough scales gently caressing her covered arm and side.

She chuckled, "At least I know you enjoy my company." She conversed with them. As the same head that nuzzled her side poked around hear the side of her kimono, her head came back into a gentle peel of laughter. "But perhaps you only missed me because I spoil you with treats." She said as she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small fruit for the dragon.

Before she could finish offering up the small fruit the two heads rammed into one another in an attempt to eat the fruit. Rin's endemic laughter was cut short as the two headed beasts turned towards the same direction that its' master faced. She noted the look of intrigue on the often stiff and expressionless face of her Lord.

Her eyes squinted into the far off distance, she could make out a cloud…..or maybe smoke….or maybe or horde of demons in the sky.

"My Lord?" she called, regaining his attention.

He turned his attention towards her and cocked a brow in her direction, a questionable invitation to continue.

"Is something wrong, My Lord?" she asked, knowing all too well his senses were much better than hers. "What is that?"

Sesshomaru pondered her question idly before answering. "It is nothing that concerns us." He replied dryly.

Rin's eyes narrowed in response at his answers garnering his full attention as his eyes almost dared her to continue her investigation.

A-Un pulled at the harness, disgruntled by the onslaught of smells coming from the distance and Rin pulled on the reigns to redirect their attention.

Rin turned away from his unrelenting gaze and instead patted the soft nose of one of the dragons to calm it.

"Nightfall is approaching." She said aloud to no one in particular.

Sesshomaru didn't reply and Rin shrugged.

"I'm going by the river before it gets too cold." She said simply.

Sesshomaru felt his eyes narrow infinitesimally, he could see the mischief shining in her eyes.

"A-Un will accompany you." Sesshomaru said turning away from her, effectively ending the conversation.

A small smile graced her features, "Of course." She replied, coaxing the creature into following her with ease.

* * *

Sesshomaru allowed his eyes to follow her supple figure as she disappeared over the bend into the woods and towards the river. His blood boiled in his veins knowing she would try and defy him, there was no doubt in his mind that she had no intention to simply bathe by the river, she would go see for herself what the matter was. Even in knowing this, his anger was most fueled by the lack of care she seemed to have though she knew that he suspected her.

He sent A-Un to deter her and by her laxed demeanor, she all but promised him that she would defy him anyway. His teeth ground together as his nostrils flared.

_Did she truly believe he was so naïve as to believe her lackluster performance?_

She was insulting his intelligence, by far.

He stood up and quietly slinked into the greenery behind her.

* * *

She had little time and she knew it, he would be hot on her heels no matter how much lead time she had and again she had little.

She yanked the kimono over her packed bag, the bag she used as a headrest every night when they would rest. It would be teeming with her scent and it was stocky enough to distract him if only for a while and really that's all she needed.

Her usually nimble fingers fumbled in frustration, why couldn't he just tell her what was going on? Why did he feel the need to belittle her with his obvious omission of information? Did that justify what she was about to do? No, but it left her very little choice and thus prompted very sudden action. He brought this on himself.

"A-Un," she purred enticingly, "come here."

She opened the palm of her hand and revealed a small powder in the center of her palm, the two headed beasts getting a whiff of it and inching closer curiously. Before they could inhale the substance, she gently palmed the center of their noses to lace their scent with the stuff, which would keep them at bay for at least an hour.

It was crushed herbs and something Kagome called liquid pheromones, though Rin was not wholly sure of what these pheromones were Kagome had explained that these were sourced chemicals specific to certain creatures that would at the very least capture their attention into pursuit and deviate them for some time.

An intriguing place the future must be, Rin had thought when Kagome explained that zookeepers, a new breed of animal tamers, used them to domesticate all kinds of creatures.

Rin watched as A-Un searched for more of the scented powder not realizing it was on the tip of it nose and started pursuing it in the direction Rin steered it towards, the direction opposite her actual path.

Once the beast was out of sight with her scent, she tore into the woods at top speed running towards the path they had followed earlier on in the day. She immediately recognized it as the path towards the village they'd passed. Concern clutched her heart as she thought of the children and men she'd seen earlier on in the day, she hoped they were alright.

* * *

As suspected, she was not by the water. Sesshomaru growled before slamming his fist into a boulder which produced a satisfying rumble and cracking sound.

He had enough, she toyed with him too often, not understanding her purpose. She was to serve him and only him, abiding by his will for her and instead she resisted, imposing her own will and judgement freely as if it were her Kami given right. He figured he had no one but himself to blame, he'd given her too many liberties as a child, this was why she defied him.

No more.

Her scent was scattered about pulling in different directions, but one breath of air told him that the most potent of her scent had gone away from where the blood had been shed near the town and instead deeper along the path towards their destination.

The fool.

She must've thought that there was something ahead and strung A-Un along. He took off after them, fuming silently.

She would be made to understand one way or another.

* * *

Rin hunched over and supported herself on her knees, ripping air into her lungs as she came to a stop. Her legs shook with exhaustion and yet she could only take a fleeting break, by now he had to be onto her for sure. After all he was no fool.

She spurred her body on, all the while staying by the water, moving silently through the night.

Suddenly the ground started to meet her as she tripped and fell. She stood up and coughed, brushing herself off and cursing her clumsiness.

She glanced back to see what she tripped over and gasped. It was kabutowari, it was broken though, smashed as if some formidable creature had crushed it beneath its foot. Trepidation trickled into her blood stream, the weapon clearly belonged to a demon slayer, a strong one if he carried such a weapon. Where was the wielder, what had happened to his weapon? She wondered.

A sudden grunt startled her into taking refuge in the surrounding greenery.

She climbed the tree she hid behind in hopes of finding an answer. She crawled on all fours as she found a sturdy enough branched peered around the vicinity before her eyes landed on a bloodied and battered corpse, shielded only by the darkness of the night.

"Please." He choked out.

Rin leapt from the branch and neared closer, hanging by the tips of her finger onto another branch.

"Help." He chocked. "Please."

In spite of her senses telling her to be wary, she dropped from the tree and made her way over to him. Had she not been used to seeing men in a wounded state, she surely would have collapsed.

The burly man was bloodied, his body badly broken, and his will clearly crushed. Is uniform was in tatters but it looked so similar to her own she had no doubt he was indeed a slayer. She could see the bone sticking out at an awkward angle from his leg and could tell by the way he drew his breath that one if not several ribs were broken, and bruises littered his body.

She approached from his right and could see that the swelling and blood had closed his eye.

"I…" he wheezed, "I can hear you. You walk faintly on the earth. You are a young woman, are you not?" he pleaded. "Leave this place, they are coming. Save yourself please." He cried.

Her voice was lodged in her throat, it saddened her to see a fellow slayer in such a state. She cleared her throat.

"What do you speak of? What has happened? Are you from the village in the distance?" she asked.

He tried to move his head, to see her she assumed but he whimpered as pain racked his body.

"No." he cried. "I am a stranger to this part of the land, I was called to the village to help but those damned ogres struck while we had our guard down. While our men played with the children and helped to gather the supplies of the villagers. We had to split up to save who we could. All we could do was stall them."

"We?" Rin asked.

The slayer pulled in a painful lungful of air. "There were four of us, I am not sure how many of us remain."

Before Rin could asked him any more questions he began to sob.

"Forgive me," he begged, "I shouldn't-"

"Hush." Rin told him softly, walking into his line of sight. "It is agonizing to see you, I cannot begin to fathom what you are feeling."

He gasped as he took her into his sights.

"You are a slayer?" he asked.

Rin simply nodded, kneeling beside him.

"Let me help you." She said.

He closed his eyes, "Please I have an elixir in my sleeve, it will relieve me of these pains."

Rin gently moved her hand into his sleeve, but not without an obvious wince from him and pulled out the small vile.

"Just pour it into my mouth." He instructed her.

Rin uncapped the vile and took a whiff of the mix. She shrank back instantly.

"This is poison." She exclaimed.

"Yes." He breathed. "It will kill me instantly. Relieving me of all these pains. Please fair maiden give me this last gift."

Rin's eyes nearly fell out of her head, a slayer only did this as a last resort, when all hope was lost. This man had clearly been through an ordeal but death? He was so young, he could still do so much, she was so sure.

She bit her lip in contemplation before a steely gleam shone in her eyes.

"No. Forgive me but I cannot bring myself to do it." she told him.

The man chocked back another sob, "Please." He begged. "There is no way left for me and the demons are soon approaching. I could not bare to face the Kami knowing I've endangered you, please just relieve me of this agony."

"No." Rin said firmly. "Your work is not done here slayer. I will not kill you, not when I can save you. Forgive me for this." She said as she reached over and pressed on one of his broken ribs.

He cried out and she threw her hand over his mouth until he stopped struggling, having blacked out from the pain.

She leaned over and pressed the side of her face to his chest and heard his steady heartbeat; relief causing her body to sag.

She moved to his shoulders and checked for any damage, relieved and surprised to find that there was none, before grabbing him from below and around his shoulders and dragging him into the woods. 


	13. Chapter 13

He snarled as he knocked the bag carrying her scent off of A-Un's back. She tricked him, toyed with his senses and sent him on a wild boar chase.

Even as he seethed, he had to appreciate her cleverness. Of course her bag with all of her belongings, the bag she laid her head on every night would carry the bulk of her scent. He'd underestimated her by far and away, she was clearly in a class of her own.

A human girl had just sent him on a chase for the better part of an hour and by the looks of it had A-Un chasing nothing powder on its' own nose for more time than that.

He rubbed the powder off the nose of the beast and pulled its reigns in the opposite direction. Nightfall had long since fallen and he'd be damned if she reached the campsite before him.

* * *

Rin trudged slowly through the night, the extra weight of the man slowing her down tremendously and yet that didn't slow her step as much as the thought of what would await her at the campsite if she ever reached it.

She looked at the man behind her and wondered what Sesshomaru would say, if he'd say anything at all. Admittedly she hadn't thought this through, this man would only slow them down and that would be the best possible scenario.

What if he was a slayer without an affinity for demons, she would be dragging him to his death. She might be doing that anyway, who was to say Sesshomaru wouldn't kill him for the sake of lightening their load. She grit her teeth in response to that thought, she wouldn't let him.

She'd never thought of him as a ruthless killer, because he wasn't. Of this, she was sure. After all, he'd gone out of his way to save her so many years ago and allowed her to follow him even now. Yes he'd been distant and more belligerent lately but so had she, they were getting used to this new dynamic of theirs and it would take time.

Nonetheless she knew this wouldn't go over seamlessly with him and resolved herself to protecting the slayer until he could fend for himself. She had to get back to the cite and get to her medical kit, the slayer didn't have long if he could get treated soon.

It was nearing dawn when she could finally make out A-Un in the distance by a low and well tended fire, she groaned; that meant they were awake and although no one had ever called her cowardly she shrinked at the idea of facing them now in her state of fatigue.

Instead she huffed and pulled to her left towards the water she'd told them she had gone to so many hours ago and nearly collapsed by the bank. She kneeled by the water and took a moments rest before beginning to tear the cloth and material off of the wounded demon slayer. She slowly and gently started rinsing the dried blood, mud, and dirt off his body in order to get a clear view of what she'd be working with.

She prayed that she hadn't overestimated her own skill, after all she was certainly no Kagome or even Kaede, but she'd done enough work alongside them to know a few things. As she opened her cupped hands to allow the water to rinse his facial features, she jumped at the sound of an all too familiar squawking.

* * *

"You insolent child! Have you gone mad?" Jaken shouted as he marched towards her.

Rin looked up to find Jaken and Sesshomaru standing not fifteen feet away, watching her work. She opened her mouth to retort and instead went mute.

Although Jaken babbled on, it was Sesshomaru's face that did the talking, he was livid at best. His usual gold and expressionless eyes melted into a rose honey color with the fury he barely reigned under his control. His upper lip just ever so slightly seemed pulled back and his body stood rigid, Rin swallowed dryly.

"My Lord." She breathed.

Sesshomaru snarled, the bass sound coming from deep within his chest, effectively cutting her off and alerting her senses.

"You dare mock me?" He growled; fangs bared and eyes red.

"No." she gasped, her voice sounding breathy and yet controlled. She would not fear him. She would not. Not if she could help it.

"Then explain yourself, your actions, this man." He drawled. "Are they not evidence of your betrayal?"

As her head snapped up in shock, her lips coming together in a confused pout she began to stand on her less than stable legs. Sesshomaru growled, a sound so ferocious, the world seemed to fall silent in response and Rin sat back on her hindquarters in shock.

She gazed into the molten gold that pinned her to her position and searched for the demon she knew. Although she didn't know what exactly she'd see within him to validate her actions or claims regarding his character, a force unknown to her urged her defiance.

In spite of his glare, she stood on legs she swore could be shaking to address him.

"I would never betray you, My Lord." She swore in a low and solemn voice.

His lip curled at the blatant sincerity of her tone and on her face, he hated the way her words alone quelled the anger inside as if it were nothing at all. As if her voice; soft, low, and breathy had managed to coax the youkai within him into believing her so easily. It angered him further that he could not find it in him to be upset with her and now his rage would be undirected, unfocused…his eyes slid to the body behind her.

"Then explain that." He breathed.

Rin's chest rose and fell as a sharp breath entered and then escaped her body.

"He's a slayer." She replied.

"I can see that." Sesshomaru gnarled. "What's he doing here?"

Rin brought herself to her full height as she anticipated where the conversation would go. "The village we passed today was attacked by the very same ogres we hunt now. He was among the slayers there to help the villagers, in an effort to save them he nearly lost his life. I couldn't leave him to die, not when I could save him." She explained.

She stood almost protectively over the burly body behind her, as if he was worth something to her. Sesshomaru's anger spiked at the thought before swallowing his rage and locked eyes with her again. The chocolate orbs burned with the light he knew was likely reflecting from her soul and pacifying his own, the depth of her eyes alone were maddening, never ending and he found himself reluctantly looking away.

"Leave him." He said coolly, as he turned with a balmy Jaken on his heel.

"I can't."

She watched as he stiffened and as Jaken shot her a blaring glare.

"Cannot or will not?" Sesshomaru ground out between clenched teeth.

Rin opened her mouth to speak only to be silence by his sudden movements, he had turned to face her and look at her as if she were some sort of spectacle.

"My Lord?" she breathed.

Suddenly his clawed hand was around her throat and she dangled from the air.

"My Lord, My Lord, My Lord." He sneered. "I wonder do you comprehend what it is you are saying? You are mine." He hissed his lips drawing closer and closer to her ear.

"You are my vassal, to do with as I please. You've no other purpose in life but to serve me and yet you find it in you, to defy me. And all this, for a broken man in the woods." He jeered.

Rin pulled in a shaky breath, "You were once a broken man in the woods." She breathed.

Sesshomaru dropped her to the ground as if he'd been electrocuted.

Rin fell gracelessly to her side and used her hands to position herself onto her side.

"How can I leave him when I know what good can come from this? His troupe is dead, he has no one left in the world, he has no purpose, how can I leave him behind when I am the same?" she exclaimed, tears pooling in her eyes. "How can you ask that of me? Please my Lord, let me tend to him, let me save him and I swear his life will be yours. He'll follow you until the ends of the earth, as I have, as I will but please…."


	14. Chapter 14

Jaken watched as the stars in the skies refused to plummet to earth, where they so rightly belonged after the scene he'd just bore witness.

She had so blatantly defied the wishes of their Lord that there was nothing, no hope, no promise, no deity above that could have save her from her fate at his hands and yet there she sat; breathing, alive, and unscathed.

It was nothing short of amazing and he wondered if he'd miss some part of the exchange. He was sure he hadn't, after all he had pinch himself so many times to make sure he was awake that his small arm was now covered in welts.

Their Lord hadn't so much as touched her for such insolence and yet he knew whatever punishment she hadn't yet received would be brought down upon them, the ogres, something or another. For even he could see the rage spilling out of him and yet this…girl, this changeling…..

Rin.

She worked over the dying slayer tirelessly now, gently removing his garments, cleaning and mending the parts of his body that she could. She was resetting broken bones, splinting them and then dressing them.

Jaken shook his head as he continued to boil the soft water under her instruction.

This new Rin was so much like the old Rin, so fiercely kind and naïve that it bordered on depravity and insanity all at once.

He dipped a small cloth into the water and brought it to her, not before wringing it out and eyeing her carefully.

Her pretty face was flushed and contorted into something he couldn't understand and yet did not want to see.

She should be rejoicing not wasting her limited breaths over this dying ningen.

* * *

Rin took the rag from him and use it to gently go over his body, as if to clean the dried mud and blood that stained his body.

Finally, after what seemed like too long, Rin sagged onto her knees in exhaustion and looked over her work. For the minimal training she had, she'd done quite well, he was by no means saved quite yet but he'd make it through the night. His breaths were already less labored and she could feel her only breath coming back into her body replenishing her muscles from the grueling task that had been saving this man.

Almost as quickly as he had been to be done, she wished there was more to do to take her mind off of her current situation. Kagome and Kaede had taught her to have a singular focus was trying to save someone, it was a skill that was more than handy for the job but helped in demon slaying as well but now that she'd finished her task, every overwhelming thought and emotion flooded over her.

What was she thinking?

How could she prolong the life of a man, she couldn't be around to save? There was no way he'd be able to move by dawn and she didn't have a prayer in hoping that Sesshomaru would allow her to drag him along.

She could barely stand now, the only way she'd be able to move in the morning was by latching onto A-Un and hoping he didn't say anything.

Who was she kidding? He'd probably never speak to her again, he'd dropped her on the ground like a venomous spirit after she had loosened her tongue and spoken against him. She should be dead by now and by his hand, no doubt.

For the first time he looked at her with…shock and disgust. He hated her. What was once the look of guardianship and curiosity had faded into abhorrence and it was her fault. Had they really change so much over the years, had she really misunderstood him?

Was he not the demon that took her in and cared for her? The demon that watched over and appeased her, even in her youth?

Had he always been this cold, this indifferent? Had she fooled herself into thinking that there has been companionship there? In a world of conquerors and conquered, she had thought for certain they'd found the compromise between the two and forged something so utterly unique that it was the only thing that could fulfill her. Now? She was not so certain. She was more lost than she'd ever been and she wondered if maybe she were on the wrong path.

She'd had so many chances, so many opportunities to live a different life, a life with no bloodshed, a life of comfort and companionship and she forsaken all in his name; hoping…..knowing that there was more to be had; fulfillment with Lord Sesshomaru.

But it was all for naught.

He was not the demon she remembered and not the demon she had sworn to follow; he wasn't the demon she loved anymore. He was just…..a demon.

Jaken opened his mouth to speak as he saw her sag in her exhausted state, finally finished with having mended this broken man.

Before he could get out but a single reprimand, a strangled sob fell from her lip. Her bright cooper eyes, drowned in the tears she attempted to conceal before spilling over the brim of her lid and down her flushed cheeks.

"What am I doing?" she cried.

She sobbed as she brought her stained hands to her porcelain face, letting her body fall to her side as she wept into the grass.

* * *

Jaken waddled over to where her hands covered her face. "You cry now?!" he exclaimed. "You faced death at the hands of Lord Sesshomaru and you bring yourself to tears now?"

Rin gave a muffled reply as she continued to cry into her hands.

"What?" Jaken asked. He shook his head in distress, he couldn't understand this woman. She was utterly backwards, turned around in the mind, of this he was sure. He opened his mouth to blame her humanity and then thought better of this.

All women were backwards. He'd never met a normal one. He was sure.

Yet he couldn't find it in him to allow her to cry so openly. She was no longer a child, her tears had to be justified, at least by her own account and despite the tenor he tried to maintain he deeply cared for her.

He missed her greatly over the years, her easy smile, her winning charm, even her naiveté. These tears were unbecoming of her. She had grown into a fine headstrong young woman, her willfulness contended with that of their Lord's, her beauty though remarkable paled in comparison to her strength of heart and suddenly Jaken found her tears infuriating.

"I said, enough of that Rin." He snapped.

"Huh." She sniffed, her eyes poking through the holes of her slender fingers.

"You are no longer a child, these tears only dishonor you now." He chided. "You are a most valuable vassal to our Lord, the greatest demon that ever walked these lands, have you forgotten your place?"

She barked a dark humorless laugh, "What place? I am nothing. I am a burden and a vexation and-"

"I said enough Rin, I won't hear it, I won't!" Jaken stomped.

"You are," he struggled to find the words, "You are a part of our troupe." He finished lamely. "You are important."

Rin shook her head.

"Maybe once, but I am not the same Jaken, I am not a child I cannot just forget the values that were instilled in me. I cannot abandon who I am in an effort to be…..beside him. I am not you." She muttered.

The green imp took no offense and instead hung his head, she was right, their Lord had left her behind so that she would grow among her own. Now, she was faulted for it. It was truly no fault of her own.

"Be that as it may," He continued. "He hates it when you cry."

Rin's brown eyes pierced his then, her brows pulling together.

"How-"

Suddenly the slayer wheezed and coughed in his sleep. Rin brought her head to his chest to listen to his heart; it sounded just fine.

* * *

He hated the space between them. He watched as she closed that small space and placed her head on the man's chest. While something dark and heavy rumbled in his.

Damn her. Damn her and her ability to make him feel this way, so volatile. Didn't she understand her position? Did she not understand that she was his, his to do with as he pleased? Instead she exercised her free will as if she were Lord of herself, as if she didn't give a damn about him.

No, instead she gave a damn about the dying human. A man she didn't know but had to defy him, in order to save. He should've killed them both but even he recognized that something deep within him, deeper than he cared to look into, recoiled against such an action. She was his.

He hated the smell of her tears, the heat of her bitter words and the heaviness on her shoulders. Now more than ever, she was so unlike his Rin. Now more than ever he missed his Rin.

The Rin that made smiling look so effortless, the Rin that hung onto his every word, the Rin that followed him…revered him.

Why was she so different now? Why didn't he hate her the way he should because of it?

He sighed as he breathed in another lungful of air tainted by the scent of her tears.

Because she was still  _ **his**_  Rin.

And so he closed his eyes and let his mind wander.

* * *

It was daybreak when she finally returned to the campsite, it was clear she had bathed recently. She smelled clean, the scent of the bloodied warrior, free of her.

He could scent her discomfort and yet when their eyes met, he saw a steely resolve that would not be broken.

A feeling he'd never felt before crept into his veins. Was she leaving him?

No. He wouldn't allow it.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked her.

Her brows raised in mild surprise, she couldn't believe he spoke first. She squared her shoulders and steadied herself for another fight.

"I'm not leaving him." She said firmly. "I won't let him die here."

"Of course not." He replied.

He'd seen this coming. She would not put up such a fight only to abandon him now, no even now she would remain true to herself.

His gold eyes narrowed as he assessed her. Her own bright eyes shone with determination that seemed to almost seep out of her bleary cried out eyes.

Incredible.

She wept nearly the entire night before collapsing into a restless sleep and woke up with the courage to challenge him yet again. She was relentless as she was impressive, he decided. Had it been anyone else, it would have resulted in their immediate death, but this was Rin. He has spent the entire night remembering the old Rin and her resilience. Admiring her loyalty and unwavering stubbornness. Perhaps this Rin was indeed the same except he was learning to read her all over again. He sighed.

He remembered having enjoyed her company. Was it because of his unyielding curiosity or did he genuinely come to appreciate the warmth that her presence radiated?

Perhaps he had simply chosen to appreciate the old Rin and that had been the difference. Could he choose to appreciate these characteristics in her now?

If it meant keeping her, and he did want to keep her for reasons unbeknownst to him, then he would.

Because he remembered, he remembered there was something about the old Rin that this new Rin had the ability to do. Rin had always made him reflective, a trait he did not use often without her, but a trait that furthered him along by far.

A trait he needed if he were to rule the Western Lands better than sire.

He stood up with is demonic speed, darted to the river bank and back. He placed the broken man over Ah-Un's saddle as best he could before reappearing before her.

"Let's go." He said as he began walking.

He subtly looked over his shoulder and watched as her plump pink lips fell open in shock before curving up into a smile.

She looked so much like his Rin.


	15. Chapter 15

"We aren't leaving until we find him, so fan out and search!" Kohaku shouted at his men.

The men went off without a complaint into the scorching heat of the day, their faces determined but weary from having searched through the night without rest. They had spent the better part of their morning burying the men they did find and now only one remained in the wilderness, the men had little hope they would find him alive.

Kohaku ground his teeth together, his rage boiling over his agony. How could this have happened? How could they have been so unprepared? It had all happened so quickly, it was a matter of minutes and they were surrounded, they'd been lucky enough to save all the villagers and yet had lost four of their own….including Yun. His last possible friend in the world.

He knew the men were exhausted and would not complain about his treatment of them, they understood from their own experiences. It was hard to become attached to another in this life, it only brought hardship when the inevitable came. Slayers had little else but the clothes on their back and their comrades.

Yun was one of his last meaningful relationships in this world, he'd be damned if he couldn't find and bury him properly.

A soft hand fell on his shoulder, startling him. "Kohaku."

She was always so silent, she could sneak up on the most honed sensed demons. It's what made her so deadly, so useful, and yet so meddlesome.

"What is it Seirin?" he asked her coolly as he turned to face her.

She stood a full head beneath him, her light brown hair cascading over her shoulders and stopping at the blades. Her facial features were sharp and almost angular, her body slim, lithe, and strong.

Her long brown lashes brushed over her cheeks as she blinked to look up at him, a small blush on her face. Her eyes shone with the rationale he was sure was running through her mind right now, and hushed emotion.

She sighed softly before answering him. "You must allow the men to rest, they are tired, they are mourning, they-"

"They should like to be honored in the same way." he growled at her. "These are our men, even in death we will look out for one another. That is what we do."

She flinched from the hard tone of his voice.

"Hai." She said bowing deeply and going to join the others.

* * *

Sesshomaru watched as Rin straightened out of her bow to him in thanks for allowing her broken man to come along. He watched as her midnight locks tumbled over her shoulders in a riot, obscuring her flushed face from him.

He turned away. "He will remain with A-Un, but he will not be a liability. A-Un will not risk his life for him, I won't allow it."

Rin nodded in solemn agreement. It was all she could ask of him, anymore would be tipping her hand. She looked over at the unconscious man on A-Un's back, she hoped by the time they returned he would be awake.

She wished she could coax A-Un into doing more but that was doubtful considering Sesshomaru stood right there. She sighed and began to quickly braid and pin up her hair, she slid her mask over her face.

Sesshomaru watched as she became the nimble yet fearsome slayer that stalked his lands. He frowned as two parallel emotions stirred within him. He brushed them aside and gave his orders.

"You are to scout and report from the South, do not engage with the enemy and report back here no later than night's fall. Jaken will accompany you. Do you understand?"

The mask on her face only reached her cheek bones now, her brown eyes shone with determination.

"Hai."

He watched as she descended down the hill and soon disappeared into the greenery.

* * *

Jaken huffed behind her uphill now and Rin's eyes darted to the overdramatic imp before looking over the land.

There was forestry as usually but deep openings to caverns on the mountain and hillside, she wondered how big these creatures must be. If the openings to their caverns could fit Lord Sesshomaru's fully transformed demon form, then they had to be fearsome in size without a doubt.

She thought of her own size and chances in battle. With great size came great strength, her only hope would be her ability to strategize and even then her chances looked bleak, but she would not back down. For now she would study them silently and see what leverage she could gain, after all she could not let him down.

Even in spite of the distance between them, she had one sure purpose, pleasing him. Even if it cost her her life. She would do all she could bring the enemy under his control or would be damned.

She calmed her senses and watched for anyone coming or going, either no one was home or they were quite stealthy for such massive creatures.

"What are-"

She clamped her hand over Jaken's beak and shot him a glare that rivaled her Lord's. Jaken immediately shut up.

"Let's go." She whispered.

She slid down the side of the hill with ease and in silence, while Jaken rolled down accidentally tripping over roots and stones; shouting all the way down.

She gaped at him in horror before her eyes shot back to the open mouther cavern before them.

Was he trying to get them killed? This had to be Sesshomaru's punishment for her.

He landed with an oof. He looked up to brush himself off and to make a comment to be met by a well-aimed rock square in the face.

Suddenly the earth beneath her small feet began to tremble.

Rin quickly moved behind a boulder and snatched him by the beak to follow, her hand pressed to his mouth to stop anymore squawking. The trembling started to pick up, almost getting closer and closer to the surface? She guessed.

Then just as suddenly as it had come it stopped, only to be followed by a sudden booming.

"Who goes there?" a deep rumbling voice asked.

Rin remained absolutely still, holding her breath.

"Come out, I can smell your fear." He griped.

Rin arched a brow, how could he smell what she did not emit. She was taught by the best slayers she knew how to stifle her fear in the midst of enemy territory, and even in the midst of battle. Her body was calm, heart beating steadily, not a drop of sweat on her.

She had also taken the liberty of masking her scent shortly after leaving Sesshomaru's side. They shouldn't have been able to smell her, let alone her fear.

A sudden collection of sweat directed her eyes to her palms. Jaken looked up at her sheepishly covered in sweat.

Jaken, she thought angrily.

She sighed, dropped the imp and took off her mask, placing it back on her side. She unpinned her head and let it fall as a braid onto her back. She walked out from behind the rock with her hands up.

She walked out and faced the brutish creature who stood two full bodies above her. He had a tan orange complexion similar to that of Jeneji's but outweighed him certainly she noticed. He wore poorly strewn pants and nothing else, his massive size being the most distinguishable thing about him. He opened his mouth to speak and she could see the rows of jagged teeth in his blood blackened mouth.

"A woman." He grunted with interest.

Fighting him would not be to her advantage right now, she thought as she looked over the clearing.

"I come seeking an audience with the Ogre King. I bring him urgent news." She said firmly.

The ogre arched his mono brow. "No pleasantries?" he scoffed. "Go home woman. Return to your village, we shall plunder it soon. Then you will meet the King."

Rin stood her ground. "I must speak with him."

The ogre looked at her with interest now, her chin jutted high in defiance. A woman who was not broken; interesting.

"And what could a mortal woman have for the king of Ogres?" he asked.

"A warning." Rin replied.

"Oh?" he said with mock amusement.

"We aren't looking for a fight, surrender to Lord Sesshomaru and be properly received by the Western lands. Strife no more, your people will only thank you for it."

The ogre looked taken aback.

"We?" he reiterated. "All I see is you and an imp. You say Lord Sesshomaru sent you? Where is he? Where is my audience with him?"

"As if the great Lord Sesshomaru, would meet with the likes of you!" Jaken shouted.

"What was that imp?" he growled as he began to move towards them.

Rin opened her stance and threw her arms out in a basic defense stance.

"Please, there is no need for violence here. We have simply come ahead to warn you and your people. Submit to Lord Sesshomaru, before it is too late."

"My people?" he scoffed "I am but a general among many, and what of the King? I lead his army, they will follow me."

"Into their deaths." Rin warned him gently, "you have an army made of a handful of ogres. Every other demon that does not run from you, will turn to fight against you with him. Set aside your pride and preserve what is left of your life. If not for you then for those who follow you. You say you are a general, a general is responsible for his men."

He chuckled. "A human woman who stands to reason with demons, I have truly seen it all now. In my troop concubines have no say in politics or battle. It is no wonder that the lord of the west has gone soft, he thinks with too many heads."

Rin could feel her blood boil beneath her skin. Rejection, humiliation and anger rushing through her.

Jaken stood there agape, that one could even speak so barbarically in the presence of a woman; of Rin. Rin, who he'd watched grow, Rin whose innocence and kindness blinded even the day sun.

"Why you sullen sunken excuse for a demon, I'll show you!" he growled as he ran around Rin to stand between her and the demon. "STAFF OF TWO HEADS."

The ogre groaned in pain and then growled in anger, slapping Jaken away with his brute force. Rin had jumped back in time to dodge the blow and tuck herself behind a tree, where she began to loosen the dual swords on her back.

He threw his head back and laughed defiantly.

"Come woman, show yourself to me. I will do what the Lord of the West cannot, let me tame you and show you what it is like to be touched by a real demon."

"You disappoint me." Rin shouted from behind the tree, "I would have thought even with your low brow wit you would be able to recognize an opportunity but instead you've chosen to insult me and my Lord in the worst possible way. Now I've no choice but to take your life by force."

"Oh?" He laughed. "Did I insult you by calling you a concubine then?"

"Ha!" Rin laughed loudly. "Not in slightest but you hurt someone close to me," she said looking over where Jaken had fallen. "And for that alone, you will die by my hand."

She climbed the tree swiftly and lithely, she pulled her mask over her nose and mouth, unsheathed both of her blades and jumped down head first towards her enemy.

He looked up at her and smirked, he'd seen her attack coming. He leaped up and to the side to strike her, "Die woman."

"You first." She replied.

"Rin!" Jaken screamed.

Rin smiled brazenly, she'd read his every move. She somersaulted mid fall, crossed her swords in the beams of sunlight over her head and temporarily blinded the ogre.

He growled impotently, swung and missed her completely. She used another tree, just as gravity prepared to ground her, to propel her body upward and forward before hurtling over him and dropping smoke and powdered poison bombs.

She dived into the darkness only accompanied by Jaken's screams.

"You fool!" was the last thing she heard before her primary sense of smell and sight were purposely turned off.

In the dark fog of the smoke and poison, she listened for his grunting shortness of breath and immediately rushed as him with her swords. As he howled with pain at the first stab and swung in her direction she turned in on herself and narrowly avoided his clumsy attack.

By her estimation he stood but a pace or two to her left side and had his bad to her. She spun out to face his back with her front and with all the force she could muster plunged her swords into his back, earning a shout of rage. She yanked one sword out of his body and prepared to use the other sword as a hold to hoist herself up and slit his jugular but he was swift and landed a blow before she had the opportunity.

By the grace of the kami, she landed in bushes rather roughly against a few stones, her mask torn off and body aching from the blow and the poison now freely entering her airways. She resisted the urge to make a noise that would accompany the pain, so that she wouldn't give herself away.

"I'll kill you!" he swore as he began to rush at her.

Rin pushed her body off the ground and forced herself to run towards him and just as he swung still blinded by the smoke, she slid onto her knees, beneath and gained her footing behind him where she ran and used the sword still jammed into his back to boost herself up quickly and grab a hold of his neck.

Holding her breath and listening for his fumbling hands being thrown in all directions, she made quick work of him and by the time the smoke cleared, she sat on top of a slayed demon as if she were awaiting a friend for a picnic.

Jaken stood stock still. He couldn't believe his eyes though that could have been because his heart was beating so fast his senses were starting to go dull.

Rin stood up, unpinned her hair, and picked up her mask.

"Are you alright Master Jaken?" she asked.

Jaken just stared at her a dumb found expression on his face a he tried to piece together what had just happened.

"Don't look so surprised Master Jaken, I haven't spent these years dawdling you know." She teased before sighing. "I just wish that it didn't always have to end the same way."

Just then a green smoke languidly seeped out from the dead body of the ogre and consumed the area surrounding it.

"Look out Rin!" Jaken shouted. "It's poison!"

Rin didn't look back but grabbed the imp demon in her arms before she started running into the forest to escape the gas she knew would be toxic once inhaled. The muscles in her legs burned and even then she pushed them past their limit and towards the small cave where they had encamped. The barrier there would keep the poison from harming them. She stumbled over her own feet and didn't stop as small branches and obstructions marred her paling skin. As she ran into the shelter of the cage, she set down Jaken and dropped her weaponry before leaning against a wall and slowly sliding down to the ground.

"How was that for fast?" she asked jokingly though the exhaustion on her face clear as day.

Jaken ran over to her.

"Are you alright Rin?" he asked worriedly as he watched the color drain from her rosy features.

She nodded fatigue quickly coming over her, "I just, I just, I just…..rest." she mumbled as she closed her eyes.


	16. Chapter 16

_It was beautiful, the sun poked through the trees which stood adorned with fruits and flowers, the grass around them shining almost eerily with morning dew and lush floral arrangements seemingly put together by the hands of nature themselves._

_Suddenly Rin shot up from her position, crouching on A-Un's saddle and whipping her head to and from. Her little body barely being able to control the glee that expelled from within. Color rushed to her face as excitement flitted across her features, her brown eyes shining with glee._

_"What are you doing girl? Sit down." Jaken ordered._

_Instead Rin jumped up on the saddle and nearly screamed with excitement._

_"Rin!" Jaken shouted as she bounded off the dragon._

_"We're here!" Rin shouted. "We're here, we're here, we're –_

_"Rin." Sesshomaru called._

_She came to a sudden stop and spun around to face him, "You remembered!" she beamed. "Jeneji's forest, it's beautiful, more than I could have imagined. Thank you, my Lord, thank you!" she said as she threw her arms around him in a sudden embrace before turning and running over the fields, feeling the grass and flowers between her toes._

_Sesshomaru smirked, his usually stoic expression put aside for the time being. It was a special day today after all and it was no wonder that it was in the spring, a season of life bringing. It was this same day, just years ago, that fate had granted him the most enigmatic gift._

_He watched as she ran through the fields with glee, eventually squealing to herself as she sank into a bed of flowers. He could never understand her fixation with flowers, he imagined that he never would but he supposed he didn't need to._

_"Happy Birthday Rin."_

_Rin turned back to look at his beautiful golden eyes; or were they more yellow in this lighting she wondered._

* * *

Jaken watched as Rin drew in her breath with great effort and clenched her teeth together from the pain while fighting off the unconsciousness that seemed to take her over and over.

"Jaken." She breathed as she fought through the memories that threatened to pull her down into a dark oblivion. "My sleeve."

* * *

Sesshomaru pulled the mokomoko, now shaped as a cloak, over his long head of hair and over the crescent moon that revealed his birthright and namesake. Though orgres were not known for their honed senses, their sense of smell would be enough to detect him if he did not take precaution.

He wondered idly if Rin was aware of that information and scowled as his train of thought started to veer back to her.

If she were the renowned slayer everyone acclaimed her to be, then she should be fine. He couldn't help but feel piqued around her, and for the first time in years he again pondered what had brought Rin into his life; Tensegia or his curiosity?

He'd always had a morbid sense of curiosity, especially when he realized what power he could wield with the fang bequeathed to him by his sire. The sword had compelled him to save her, but had the sword done so in response to his need to know, his yearning to understand the small helpless creature that had tried to help him so vigorously? And more importantly what in him allowed her to stay by his side for so long, to tend to her needs, to cater to her?

He truly did not know.

In the years that he had not visited Rin, he could easily admit to himself that it had been to cut off what he deemed an unnecessary limb. He had lands to conquer, enemies to defeat, he couldn't allow the physical manifestation of his curiosity or of his tenderness to linger around him. His enemies would no doubt make use of her time and time again, and though he had no doubt he would be able to save her, such a distraction would become a greater hinderance over time.

It would have also been unsafe for her, something he had factored in with great weight.

After all she belonged to him, he would not allow anyone to take or harm what was his, even if it was something he did not want around anymore. This new Rin however was no different from the old Rin in the same respect, except now he was all the more curious as she had changed and morphed into something he couldn't understand once more.

It was like the metamorphosis of a butterfly, one of the Kami's most beautiful creations, she had gone from one thing to the other almost over night and now he was exactly where he had started with her; piqued.

When he had first run into her, not only was he unamused but vexed. The first battle they'd fought, he couldn't understand how Rin who knew nothing but kindness, nothing but joy, and nothing but happiness could have become a slayer. A good one at that.

It was infuriating, it was almost as if she had grown to defy all he knew of her. The soft, kind child that he had come to know like the back of his hand, had grown into this being in order to prove to the world and to him, that he in fact did not know her and it insulted him, insulted the very nature of their relationship and disrespected the memory he had of her.

He only saw one solution, so in bringing her along with him to fight an unwinnable battle, she would die in both punishment and redemption. She would die for growing into what he did not know, for being something she was not; this would be her punishment. And in her death the memories he had of her would be redeemed, their relationship saved, because she would have forever remained the helpless ningen who depended on him for life.

Instead his brilliant plan for her demise and rebirth had backfired, and he now found himself…piqued. Everything she did drew his attention, every thought that shone in her eyes, every sigh she breathed, every smile….all of it confounded and intrigued him, and he sought to know it all, understand it all. This way he would know for certain what was in his possession and whether or not it was of use keeping around, until then she could not go.

Yes, that was the reason, the only reason he promised himself.

After all what could he want with her otherwise?

Jaken's inappropriate first comment upon meeting her flashed through his mind and he ground his teeth together.

As if her beauty were enough of a reason to keep her around. It was laughable really, what use did he have for a beautiful woman anyway. It was just another hinderance as they could go nowhere without men ogling her like a free meal.

As his thoughts brought him back to the boy by the bank, asking for her hand in marriage he found himself relieved that she had seemed so embarrassed by his claims. Not because he had any intentions with her, certainly not, what she chose to do in her romantic life was her own business. But he appreciated that she seemed of sound mind in spite of her beauty, she knew what she wanted, she knew her worth and yet did not belittle others. She was humble, graceful in her rejection of him and much too kind.

It was no wonder these men flocked to her, she was more than they deserved. Beautiful, kind, enigmatic, intelligent, strong, courageous, loyal. She was almost a deity among men. Almost. After all she was also headstrong, disobedient, smart mouthed, opinionated, sneaky and overly liberated.

No ningen man would be enough for her, she could not submit to them, anyone lower than herself; anyone other than him.

He growled at the distraction his mind refused to let go of.

Her servitude would be useful to him; nothing more and nothing less.

He pulled the cloak further over his features and stalked further into the wilderness, allowing his sense to pull him further towards.

He hated being piqued.

He hated her for having piqued his curiosity so thoroughly.

* * *

Jaken was at a loss, he rummaged through the weapons and vials of antidotes and poisons, she managed to keep on her person.

How had she been able to ever tell them apart? How had she been able to pack them into the little caps on her slayers wear to begin with?

He watched as her big brown eyes blinked at him almost painfully slow.

He held as many vials in his hands as possible.

"Which one Rin?" he asked her.

Her head hit the wall of the cavern with a small thud. He hopped onto her lap and pulled her hair painfully to get her attention.

"Focus you silly girl, which vial?" he hissed.

"Yellow." She breathed with a little nod, as if she had just become sure of something in that moment.

Jaken looked at the vial containing the yellow liquid and hoped to the Kami above that she was right and not simply hallucinating as he uncapped the bottle and gagged at the smell, it smelled acidic and potent, but what did he know he thought, as he slid the contents into her mouth.


	17. Chapter 17

No sooner than the liquid had gone down, it was back up. Jaken watched as Rin suddenly came to from her state of drowsiness and delirium, lurched forward, and become ill violently. Almost as if something had compelled her from within, to release anything vomitable thing from the confines of her stomach.

"Rin!" Jaken gasped in shock.

Rin gagged and coughed on the bile and waste, making way from her stomach to the ground, barely holding herself up on the weight of her arms.

Jaken thought of going rub her back, but thought better of it once he realized he was too close for comfort as was. He took a few steps back and called out again.

"Are you feeling better?" he shouted from nearly the opening of the cave.

Rin didn't reply and couldn't even if she had wanted to, she could barely hear over the roaring over her ears and the scorching heat in her chest and stomach.

As her sudden illness came to pass, Rin gasped and coughed for breath.

She looked over her shoulder where her weapons and vials had been dumped beside the cavern wall. She noted the yellow bottle and before she could throw a deadly glance at Jaken, collapsed in her vomit.

"That's disgusting!" Jaken shouted from the distance.

* * *

Sesshomaru sat nonchalantly by the tree, watching A-Un who grazed freely now that he was no longer on guard.

The broken man lay several feet away from him, still recuperating from his injuries. His breath which had been so greatly labored before was now even and heavy sounding; in fact he snored like a boar. Clearly the tiresome work Rin had devoted to the man had not been in vain and Sesshomaru found himself both intrigued and annoyed. A thunderous sound tore through the stillness of the night, disrobing its grace and tainting its joy.

Sesshomaru growled.

Had the ningen not been Rin's latest pet project, he'd have died for disrupting his peace of mind, of which he had none and again it was Rin's fault. He looked at the stars which littered the dark sky and felt his eyes narrow in frustration.

She was late. He told her that he wanted her back by night fall, that had been some time ago and yet here he sat; alone. A low growl started to rumble in his chest, she defied him at every turn.

"A-Un. Guard." He ordered before he stalked into the night.

* * *

"Kohaku-sama." Seirin sighed.

Kohaku looked over his shoulder and held her gaze.

Her gaze fell to the ground in humble submission, "I'm sorry, but we- "

"I know." He grunted through clenched teeth. "Tell the men to rest. We return home at day light."

"Home?" she replied.

"Did you have plans to go elsewhere?" he asked her bitingly.

Seirin flushed, "I don't understand, how can we go home?"

"Simple." He replied as he turned around and brushed passed her. "We leave."

Seirin followed after him, "How can you say such a thing? How can we face the Kami knowing we did not seek justice for our brethren? You say we are a family of slayers, that we honor one another even in death, and this is how you repay them? How you repay Yun?" she argued.

Kohaku turned around to face her, "What do you suggest Seirin? That we go and avenge them? And what? Lose more men in the process? We came here to do a job and did just that, our fallen brethren wouldn't ask for more than that." He reminded her. "Don't forget that your vengeance is always wielded better in the hand of your enemy."

"Of course, but we are slayers, we do not act in vengeance but we do have an obligation to the people of this land. It is our Kami given duty to protect them when we can. We know the ogre population is growing, we know how ruthless they are, and now we can track them. Their camp cannot be more than a day away, now is the time that we lay siege to their towns and to their families."

"And this is what you think Yun would have asked of us?" he asked her.

"You were like a brother to Yun, you shouldn't have to ask." She replied.

* * *

Sesshomaru walked further into the now open plain, feeling an odd sense of relief. He'd followed a scent of Jaken and decay, though he knew it wasn't Rin's decaying flesh he scented, a number of thoughts pestered at his mind. He realized quickly though that Rin had hidden her scent; it was the only logical explanation as how the path of destruction that he was currently following could have been created.

Even on his best day, Jaken couldn't inflict this kind of damage to the earth. Perhaps her notoriety was not to be forsaken after all, but as he reached the field and saw an ogre corpse, alongside her mask; he wondered what he should do next.

The last thing he needed in the midst of battle was an uncontrolled variable and Rin was proving to be just that.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!!! I know I am late and slow with the chapter roll outs, I just want to make sure everything is structurally sound in my head first before posting and that's hard when you have a million things to do. So thank you for your patience, sorry if it's a little short, I hope you enjoy!

Rin wriggled her toes at the edge of the water and shuddered before sucking in a breath and taking a few steps back. Before her sanity could fully register what she was about to do, she ran towards the water and vaulted into it; fully submerging herself in the icy water hat prickled her skin and burned on first contact.

She swam up towards the surface and erupted from the water suddenly.

“You better be bathing and not just splashing around in there! Don’t make me look!” Jaken warned her.

At that, Rin had to laugh, her breath leaving her in foggy puffs and shallow pants.

“Do you mean to threaten me, Jaken?” she asked as she swam to the rock where he stood, his back facing her.

Jaken opened his mouth to speak but Rin beat him to it.

“I’d tread carefully,” Rin whispered almost menacingly in her sugar-coated voice. “I’m not yet sure whether I’ve forgiven you for nearly having killed me twice today and once tonight.”

Jaken gasped and pressed his lips together.  The lumps on his head were still too fresh from the rocks she threw at him in the cave to get his attention.

He had pulled her out of her own vomit by her hair and fell asleep as he waited for her to recover. She awoke smelling like manure and looking like a demon of vengeance.

In a misguided but valiant effort to save her life, Jaken had had given her acid to drink instead of an antidote. It was only by the grace of the Kami that it hadn’t been a strong acid or it would’ve burned a hole through her mouth and throat. She threw up most of the noxious fumes she had inhaled and bathed now to rid herself of the lingering scent of poison and vomit.

In retribution, she pummeled him with rocks and then made her way out of the cave; towards the campsite. As they reached a small body of water before their destination she ordered he stand guard while she bathed.

The small imp demon sighed, though he knew Lord Sesshomaru was not prone to worrying, he was an impatient man. Yet he knew better now than to stand in between Rin and her baths; it almost seemed ironic now.

As Rin began to backstroke further into the water he spoke again.

“You choose now to indulge in a bath? If only you had loved baths this much as a child.” He griped.

Rin ran her hands through her hair and laughed breathlessly. “Times have changed.” She agreed. “Much has.”

* * *

_“But its cold!” 10 year old Rin whined as Jaken pulled her further into the riverbank towards Kaede whose hands foamed with Kagome’s soap and shampoo._

_“Come now child, you mustn’t fight this. It’s good for you.” Kaede insisted. “In fact, a maiden your age should bathe at least twice a week.”_

_Rin yanked on her arm towards Sesshomaru who stood not far off from the water himself._

_“Lord Sesshomaru!” she cried, knowing that he would surely come to her defense._

_He watched as he fought with Jaken in the water, nearly drowning him to escape her loathed bath._

_It had been this way for some time now, Inuyasha would summon him back to the sink hole of a village every time Rin refused to acclimatize to their human customs. She wouldn’t eat, sleep, or play with the others. She’d hide, fight, and remain silent until he came to convince her otherwise._

_“Please, my Lord, save me!” she pleaded, her voice wavering. “I don’t want to bathe with them, I don’t want to stay here! Please!”_

_Her pleas did not go unheard, in fact, they resonated with him on a profound level; but suddenly a  he stood_

_“Enough Rin.” He snapped. “This constant defiance is unbecoming of you, and it will not be tolerated.”_

_It seemed as though all life stood still as the words left his mouth. Jaken who had been holding onto Rin so stubbornly, was so shocked he let go and was swept away noisily the river while both Kaede and Inuyasha who watched aloofly from a branch none too far, stared at the two as if they expected an explosion of some sort._

_In the years that Rin had been his ward, there had never been an instance where Sesshomaru had scolded her. Never._

_Rin looked at the golden eyes that seemed to bore into her will and felt the strength leave her arms and legs. She sat in the water almost numbly and let Kaede scrub her hair and body thoroughly. The heavy scented foam stung her eyes which flowed with tears she couldn’t bear to show. Kaede washed over her twice more before finally letting her rinse in the water and make her way back to the bank in a drenched towel._

_Like a moth to a flame, she found herself standing before her Master._

_“A word Rin, after you’ve dressed and eaten.” Sesshomaru said before turning away and vanishing._

* * *

Rin shuddered at the memory.

Perhaps things had started to change then and she simply had not noticed it.

She got out of the water, dried off, and dressed quickly. There was a chill in the air that would not take kindly to her wet hair and a fire sounded more than pleasant now. She dreaded the thought of having to face Sesshomaru now; hours after he told them to be there.

She was surprised he had not sought them out already.

Perhaps he too was delayed and he would not notice their tardiness. It was an unfounded hope but a hope nonetheless, one she would cling to for the time being.

“Master Jaken-” she started.

“Finally!” The little imp declared as he marched past her and towards the camp.

Rin rolled her eyes and planned to reply but then sneezed. The small sneeze alone nearly brought her to her knees as a sudden sensation of dizziness and a pounding ache at her temples overcame her. Rin gripped a tree beside her to support herself.

Jaken turned to look at her worriedly.

“Are you sure you’re alright Rin?” he asked.

“Yes.” She said firmly. “We must go. Lord Sesshomaru is waiting.”

As they trudged through the forestry Rin couldn’t help but wonder what she could say to justify her failure. He’d given her a fairly simple task and she hadn’t completed it. He had explicitly told her to gather information and to remain unknown to the enemy; all of which she did not do.

She could easily blame it on Jaken, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it knowing how worried he’d been for her and how much trouble he’d be in.

Even now he dragged himself forward though his small body was clearly exhausted. The campsite was only a little while away; she picked him up in her arms and he surprisingly did not protest. She looked down to find him already sleeping in her arms; she smiled to herself.

* * *

Rin nearly fell over at the sight of A-Un, who sat languidly under the cover a tree beside the slayer she had rescued. Upon seeing her the two headed beast, using the beam from his mouth, lit a pile of sticks ablaze and turned it into a roaring fire.

“Good boy A-Un.” She said in a labored breath. She placed Jaken on the ground softly and knelt before the flames at a safe distance.

The fire crackled at the wood as the crickets sang in the distance. The heavy snoring of Jaken and the now quiet breaths of the broken man made for a soothing rhythm in the night. Before she could catch a breath an all too familiar voice added to the harmony of the night.

“You breathe too soundly for the likes of an assassin.” Sesshomaru hissed.

She gasped and jumped back startled by his sudden appearance by her side.

“Assassin?” she replied confused.

His cold gold eyes met hers in refute as he nodded once.

“You left a corpse the size of a small mountain behind. Do you deny it?” he probed.

“No.” Rin replied softly.

“I gave you specific orders.” He told her calmly.

“Yes, My Lord.” She said as she bowed her head in submission.

“And yet you go, engage and slaughter the first ogre you come across. A means of information, gone. Lost to your bloodlust, your ignorance.” He breathed.

Rin did not reply.

“Tell me, what satisfaction do you gain in your defiance towards me?” He asked.

As the silence between them grew thick he growled.

“I’ve asked you a question.” He seethed.

But the girl in front of him did not move, as he moved in on her to get a closer look at her features. He noticed her face was flushed and her eyes nearly closed. She brought her head up weakly before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body swayed towards the flames.

Reflexively Sesshomaru lunged to catch her and brought her burning body to his chest. Her hair was wet, her body sweltering and her breathing labored. He leaned over her body while soft hazel eyes watched from beside the two headed beast and wept.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> & We're Back!

As Rin swayed towards the flame, a force from within him propelled his body forward and sheathed her from the dancing hues. He hissed in pain and gritted his teeth as he felt the flames lick the back of his hand in an effort to tarnish her features.

He clutched her to his chest and pulled away from the flames that threatened to harm her. His heart clenched painfully in his chest as the girl he held to his chest continued to heat him in an unnatural fashion. He pulled back to look over her features for any injuries and breathed a sigh of relief as the grip of one uncertainty finally left him.

Her flushed face and dripping hair told him part of the story, while the residual smell of acid and poison told him another. He quickly realized that she must’ve inhaled the ogre intestinal poison but the smell of acid confused him. Nonetheless as she wheezed softly through her damaged esophagus, a familiar fear throbbed in his chest and left him breathless and frustrated.

He placed her unto the ground beside him and shook her gently.

“Rin.” He called out to her. “Rin.”

He gritted his teeth when she remained limp in his arms. Anger pulsed through him. She’d brought this on herself and now consequently them. She’d overtaxed her body, been injured, did not pay attention to her nourishment, and bathed in cold waters nightly.

Now she was battling a fever and poison, this was beyond the scope of a human ailment, her body did not seem capable of expelling the toxins from within and it seemed that if not dealt with properly this Rin, as he knew her, would cease to exist.

Something in him trembled and pulsated through his body at the thought.

His eyes glowed an indignant rage fueled red and his aurora pulsed out of him, enveloping them in a sickening pool of malice and contempt. He could hear the wind picking up as if to dissipate his emanation while all the wildlife that had once slept so peacefully around them, stirred and deserted their positions.

* * *

Jaken sprung up from his sleep as if he knew his master had entered into a state of rage that could no doubt lead to his imminent demise.

Ah-Un whined uneasily.

“My Lord?” he muttered in a groggy yet cautious tone. He glanced around the campsite in shock.

**_How did I get here?_** He thought feebly.

His eyes open and around once more as he recalled the long days’ events. He looked around for Rin and his heart began to drum in panic as he saw no sight of her. When his eyes finally landed on the pair before the flames, his heart lodged into his throated and his eyes bulged out of his head.

The demon towered over the damsel in his arms, teeth bared, and eyes yowling of untold rage and vehemence, while his ethereal white hair acted as a willowing curtain between them and the rest of the world.

**_How dare she?_** His youkai seethed. **_Did she intend to abandon him now? Rin of old or new, it did not matter; she had no right, her life was not her own. She could not, he would not allow it. Did she not promise her life to him? Would the kami be so inexorable? He would not allow it._**

“My Lord!” he shouted in terrorized panic. “What are you doing to Rin?!”

Sesshomaru blinked then, momentarily disoriented in the lingering daze of such intense emotion. He looked down at the girl in his arms whose head lulled back almost ghoulishly. His fingers pressed into the flesh of her upper arms and he knew, sorrowfully, that when she woke -if she woke- she would be bruised.

**_How long had he been his rage? When did Jaken awaken?_ **

A sudden rush of realization gripped him again as the sound of her wheezing offended his ears.

**_Rin. Rin!_ **

He placed her down softly on the earth as Jaken ran to be beside her. He looked up at his Lord in bewilderment and then back at Rin in shock and fear, he placed his small green claws on the forefront or her head.

“My Lord, she’s burning up. Surely, she won’t last the night, we must do something!” Jaken insisted.

Sesshomaru did not move and instead stared at the young girl. She was as still as a corpse; the only indication of life was her still thumping heart and strained breath.

Even in her weakened state there was a beauty about her that he could not bring himself to ignore.

Her fevered flush only seemed to brighten her virtuous beauty and as if the Kami sought to punish him, to prove that she did not belong beside him, her skin burned his upon contact.

Jaken was right, her fever was climbing by morning her light would be extinguished.

Her lips, usually full and moistened by her tongue, were dry and parted. Her hair matted around her temples and he could scent the still lingering combination of poison and acid as they surely burned her from her within.

 He looked to Jaken and finally spoke. “What happened today Jaken? After she killed the ogre?” he demanded.

The green demon flushed, turned away slightly and began to perspire.

“Jaken.” He growled impatiently.

“It was an honest mistake MiLord! Rin was poison by fumes of the dying ogre and in an effort to relieve her of its effects, she mistook a vial of acid for an antidote, but it seemed to do no harm my Lord. It had just passed her lips before she returned it to the earth in a vile display!” he swore.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes in disbelief. Though he would be hard-pressed to admit it, the girl seemed was a seasoned slayer. She would not have made the mistake of drinking acid under the impression that it would be antidote. They would have carried different smells, potent smells, ones that even humans could differentiate. Only a bumbling fool that couldn’t know the difference would have made that mistake, but he had no time to argue with Jaken’s chain of events.

He’d make him pay later. Now, he had to needed to focus on saving Rin.

Sesshomaru eyed her again thoughtfully as he contemplated what to do. He’d never had to take care of the sickly before. Sure, he’d taken care of Rin in her youth, but she always managed to stay in good health, she even saved Jaken when he was poisoned once.

There was only one thing Seshomaru could think to do, something that had been done to him once, the one and only time he’d fallen ill as a mere pup.

“Jaken.” He said decidedly.

“Yes my Lord?” Jaken replied hesitantly as he awaited the barrage of insults and abuse, he knew was rightfully coming his way.

“Fetch her some water and be quick about it.” He ordered the imp.

“Yes milord.” Jaken cried gratefully before scampering off towards the water.

Sesshomaru grabbed the girl and shifted her onto his lap, bringing her closer to his chest than she had been in years. Her warm cheek lay against the crook of his neck and her body easily molded to fit his own, as if she’d grown for the sole purpose of being there.

Slowly he brought his fur around her tightly keeping her sheltered from the winds and pressed against him even more.

Her body weak in his arms and unease crept into his heart while one thought plagued his mind.

He was going to lose her, **again**.

It seemed that no matter how hard he tried to keep the girl alive, fate would always intervene and attempt to take her. She’d died twice already, once as a child attacked by wolves, and the second as a lost soul in the underworld revived only by his mother, and now it would be human ulnerability that took her.

Although he was pained to admit it, the thought vexed and tortured him. Hadn’t he done enough for the girl to stay alive over the short span of time that was her life? He protected her, assured that she was clothed and fed in her youth, he’d even returned her to her own kind when he was sure she would be safest there.

He’d done all he could think of to keep her life long, at his own expense and never once did he complain, after all it was for Rin. The Rin **_he_** knew, the Rin **_he_** understood. How could he do anything less for her? The once girl, now woman, whose warm smile had even entranced him to serve her.

He sucked his teeth in frustration and held her tighter to him as another soft gust came and left.

Since the moment he’d revived her with the Tensegia, he had unknowingly fallen under her charms, he’d been her constant companion, her protector and provider, her Lord, and somewhere along the line her friend.

She was his greatest weakness and greatest strength, seeing in him the redeemable qualities he could not even see in himself. She confounded him, her strange, wild, and yet kind ways seem to coexist in her perfectly, even now it was what drew others to her, both demon and human alike; like moths to a flame.

How could anyone be so kind and yet so strong? How could anyone be so small and yet so brave? She knew fear better than most having been brought up chasing Naraku alongside him and yet, it was never fear that would stop her from doing what she considered the right thing. It made her all the more fierce, loyal.

She saw good in him. Believed in him. Just as his father had. She was his last hope, hope for benevolence.

**_When had that changed? When had her perception of him gone from protector to predator? When had she seen him for the first time….as a demon?_ **

**_And when had he grown so foolish as to think he could be the one to instigate her death as a form of retribution?_ **

Jaken waddled back to the campsite with a bucket of water in tow.

“Here is the water my Lord!” he announced before turning to face them and nearly falling over in shock.

His mouth fell agape as he watched his Lord cradle the young woman in his arms like a mother and child.

“Bring me the water Jaken!” He snapped.

Jaken looked back at the small bucket of water and at the woman in his master’s arms. “I-I do not think she is well enough to drink it herself my Lord, she is too weak.” He informed him unnecessarily.

Sesshomaru ignored his squawking and took a small ladle of water bringing it to his lips. Jaken was right, she’d be too weak to part her lips, but that did not mean her lips could not be parted. Carefully as if she were made of the finest silks, he took the water into his mouth bowed his head in a stern concentration just before pressing his lips to Rin’s, gently parting them, and feeding her the water slowly so that even in her weakened state she would not choke but drink softly and without effort.

He’d done it once, twice, and as he went to do it a third time Jaken fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh but there's more.


	20. Chapter 20

She was no divine entity that had come to his rescue, she was no fair maiden, and she was most certainly no demon slayer.

Yun could feel his heart hardening at the sight of the demon abusing the woman in his arms with his lips again and again. He could only watch as the beast took her affections without pause or remorse while she remained limp and unresponsive in his arms.

It was as if he were being punished, watching her be slowly devoured by the demon's lust whist his own heart was being torn. Why would she have brought him here? To die at the hands of her lover? Of her master?

She had trudged onto the campsite slowly, as if her legs were weighed down. Nothing like the tinkering nymph she had been when he first encountered her. Where her every step and breath had been measured and graceful then, she had dragged herself and her cargo with little tact or grace to front of the fire. She petted the two headed demon as if it were a loyal steed and not a beast that could have feasted off her bones. She then placed a smaller demon beside the great beast softly, as to not disturb his slumber.

It was a sickening display of affection that he could not understand, his heart had pounded unevenly in his chest. What could a fair maiden be doing with these demons? The answer was clear. Absolutely nothing, she was either a victim herself or one of them; both of which only meant one thing for him. Certain death.

Tears started to ebb away at his vision, but he was still not well enough to brush them away subtlety and without painful contest.

The girl knelt sluggishly before the fire, her body slumping in exhaust. Her chest rose at an unnatural pace and he was again struck by her beauty.

He couldn't see her eyes from the distance between them, but he didn't need to, they'd been burned into his soul but a few nights ago when he was certain they were the last ones he would see. Her brown orbs had an inextinguishable fierceness that he had never seen in a woman, an innocence and a brilliance that could not be paralleled. Aside from that though, there was a kindness, he was sure; a kindness that could not be mistaken for anything else. A genuine affection for others that would not die and it was for this reason he was certain she was not real. That she had been sent by the kami as the sweetest bringer of death.

When he awoke he knew he had not died, after all death could not be so uncomfortable. As he looked over what he could of his body and tested the limits of his muscular use, he knew he had not been killed but tended to by the woman. She must have refused his request and saved him. He had been so relieved and so grateful, he wept without caution. That was until the two headed dragon erupted from the forest's leafy coverage and sat beside him. The panic had come and gone quickly though, the creature seemed uninterested in him entirely, as if he were simply keeping him company. He had a large saddle on his back and so for a short time he wondered if he belonged to the woman slayer. If she had tamed a beast as fearsome as this then she was certainly a slayer to be respected. He awaited her return nervously before closing his eyes only to be met with hers again. What sweet relief she brought him even now in his sleeping state.

Now, all of that seemed foolish and naïve. Yet, he couldn't help but be confused and angry. He had watched as the demon lord confronted her and first he thought to help before recalling his pitiful state but then….then she called him Lord.

Every fighting spirit had left his body then alongside the breath that escaped him.

" _Yes, My Lord." She said as she bowed her head in submission._

She was loyal to him, she submitted to him, and now in her weakened state she was abused by him.

Yun could not help but feel sickened by his circumstance, to have been cut down only to end up in the clutches of another demon and his human vassal.

A human vassal whose sole purpose was to entice and entrap him and the likes of him.

Could the kami be so unforgiving? So cruel? He had just barely lusted after her on the brink of death and so this would be his final punishment before facing them for eternal damnation.

As the demon brought his lips to hers again, for what could have been the tenth time, he turned his head away from the scene. Unable to watch anymore.

It seemed her beauty had betrayed her too. She was both predator and prey. Perhaps she deserved this, a fate so unbecoming of her beauty, a fate as ugly as she was beautiful.

He sighed and winced at the pain in his chest that said otherwise.

No. He could not believe that, she had been too kind; her eyes and actions had attested to this. His now healing body must be testimony to this. She must have been a victim; a victim of her beauty and his lust. If she was not yet ruined by him then there was a chance for her. Yes. There could be a chance for her.

He would save her, as she did him.

If he made it through the night, he could save her.

Dear Kami, let them be saved.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" the young slayer demanded as Kohaku finished his sentence.

"I mean what I say Kato," Kohaku said in a stern voice. "I will not hold any of you to this, I do not expect you to follow me blindly but the ogres are a greater threat than we have realized. They will continue to terrorize human villages until there are no more in the area and I cannot face the kami knowing I did not try to stop them. They are too many in number to hope for a phenomenon to bring them to extinction and there are many more human lives to lose before such a hope could even enter our minds."

"So you think to hunt them?" Kato asked among the mumbling group.

Seirin nodded beside him. "There is no other way; he must. We must."

"You cannot possibly expect to live with such ambition Kohaku. What of our families? Or your sister and friends? Would you have us return to them without a body to bury?" Yuichi, another young slayer demanded.

"You do not hear me brother, I am not abandoning my family now in this pursuit. I am protecting them. How long do you think it will be, before the ogres destroy the undefended human in area and turn towards our very homes? It is only a matter of time. I am no fool, I do not say these things lightly, I know what this will mean for me but remember that whatever is worth living for, is also worth dying for." He replied.

A silence fell among the group and he continued.

"I live for my family, my brothers, my friends and humanity. I am willing to die for them." He said softly as he looked his brethren in the eye.

Seirin flushed as they met eyes for a brief moment. She stepped forward.

"So will I." she swore. "I will follow you, Kohaku."

"We all will." Yuichi promised, Kato and the other slayers nodded.

Kohaku felt a warmth in his chest and cheeks before he looked at the earth beneath his feet, overwhelmed with emotion.

"Get rest everyone!" Kato shouted. "We embark on this mission bright and early tomorrow."

They dispersed quickly and started making camp, while Yuichi and Kato stayed behind with Kohaku.

Kohaku looked up, "Thank you." He breathed.

Yuichi nodded and Kato smiled.

"Sleep well with your phantom tonight brother. This may be the last time you see her." Kato smiled.

Kohaku smiled weakly. Yuichi and Kato were the closest to him after Yun, clearly they had been talking, not that he was upset if only mildly embarrassed.

"We should hope not." Yuichi reminded them. "As long as your can dream of your phantom, we can dream of success."

Kohaku chuckled then.

"Indeed." He sighed. "Indeed."


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally an update! Enjoy.

He watched as she tossed in her unconscious state; the sight of her so unwell pained him. He used to envy her ease of sleep and would revel in the peacefulness of her nightly unconsciousness.

As a child she had slept in such an undisturbed manner it worried him, had it not been for her steady breath and the beat of her heart, he would’ve thought her to be dead. It was at that moment that he had only just begun to realize the vast difference between them as separate species; the girl would essentially give in to the day’s exhaustion and sleep the night away to recover, while he felt no need to do so. He could stay up for days, weeks even, and he often did. It was only after having spent time in the company of his half-breed brother that he came to realize that all of the humans did this except on rare occasion. Even Inuyasha rested occasionally, admittedly it was not as often as the rest of the ningen but it was often enough to take notice and having come to understand this, Sesshomaru became more placated with Rin’s daily schedule.

She was his ward after all, while she slept, he would assure no harm would come to her. The privilege of her protection was his alone, lest he set off elsewhere and leave Jaken and A-Un on guard.

As she slept, he would listen to her breathe as the night crept by soundly, as if the breaths from her lungs were expelled for the sole purpose of his hearing it; as if it were an orchestra tuned for his ears alone. The only thing that impended her breathing then was the sour habit of thumb sucking, one he’d had to covertly manage to break by removing the digit from between her lips and applying the pressure of his own hand on hers to keep her from attempting to do it again.

A privilege.

A privilege he hadn’t recognized until it had been stripped away from him in the wake of her absence.  

Sesshomaru picked her up gently and walked over to a tree where he sank to the ground gracefully. He laid her out and sat back against the tree to take his post.

His head rested on the rough trunk of the tree and he let out a breath.

Life without Rin had been like it always had; tiresome. It was always one thing after the other and yet its monotony was precisely what he had sought when he had first left her in the capable hands of the elderly miko.

Realistically, he knew and had known from the first day she had joined his pack that she could not stay. She was a perfect contrast to all that he knew and was, even in her youth she was the mortal among the immortal bunch, she was the sun to his moon, the light to his darkness, and the pure to his corruption. He could not hope to succeed in battling the fiercest demons and conquering the greatest lands with her by his side. It simply would not do.

Even as a mere child, she hindered him greatly and not just in the physical sense for he had all of eternity to wander the earth. She hindered him emotionally. He could not so much as swat a fly without having second thoughts about his course of action. The bloodlust he had so desperately craved had begun to dissipate in her air of forbearance and consideration. The only bloodshed he could justify before her, was that spilled in her defense.

Her beaming smile alone had lulled him into a sedated state of mind that sought to interpret the illimitable landscape of his mind. Her very presence compelled him to bring into being a path of introspection so profound that he had become admonished with himself. He’d begun to unravel and all under the enchantment of a human child who knew nothing of the world he had come to know.

Thus, it was decided swiftly after the successful hunt and defeat of Naraku, that Rin would be sent to live among her own, where she could no longer influence him so brazenly, where she would not be used as a pawn against him, where she could grow in the way that humans did; safely and unremarkably.

It had not been his intention to abandon her, no, she was after all a part of his pack. She was a most loyal vassal and represented him wherever she would go. So he had often sent her gifts of great wealth, kimonos, books, jewels, rare plants; something he knew she would love and would make every effort to care for. He had even often allowed Jaken and A-Un to spend time with her every few moons or so; after all they were the only pack she knew.

Though as time passed, like it always had, he had simply lost track of time. Matters of conquest and power became more pressing. The obligations and responsibilities of his late father had fallen to him and he’d returned to the castle to establish a new rule his own. The legitimate transition of power was still just that; transitioning. It was a slow process but one he had come to expect, truly he had just only begun to fill the position when the pressing opposition from the ogre demons had come about.

All other lands, lords, and tribes had submitted in an unprovoked manner. His reputation of ruthlessness had proceeded him and with an army now at his disposal, fighting would be futile. Yet it would be unlike his life, if all had gone according to plan, because for some reason unbeknownst to anyone, the ogre demons refused to submit to his leniency and as the first real uprising leading towards war under his rule; he had to dispatch them.

He could’ve sent a small battalion, yes, that would have been so much easier but like any commander in chief, he knew respect from his army would have to be earned. These were the men and seed of men that had served his sire. Hearsay would not do, they would need to bare witness to his power and resolve before they conceded their alliance to him and this he understood. After all he had been a foot soldier briefly during his sire’s reign and though he had always had an awesome respect for his father, hearing the stories of war and seeing him come back with either the bodies of his enemies or the riches of their enemies, were two separate things.

 So he found himself alone, which he preferred, in pursuit of the ogre demon tribe….a full ten years after he had last seen a gap tooth, bright eyed, and rambunctious Rin.

The monotony he had so craved in order to escape her influence had not been what he could have foreseen but it had done the job, it had severed their ties from one another and yet….

He looked over at the small woman. Her breathing now, though better than it was last night, was still heavy, labored, and occasionally hitched. As she no longer wheezed, the sound was melodic to his sensitive ears, the sound sang alongside the steady beat of her heart.

She was healing slowly but surely, and he found that this fact helped him breathe easier too. As he’d fed her the water over the course of the night, he’d collected trace amounts of his dokkasō from within his mouth and mixed it with the water enough so that it was still soft enough for her to drink with his aid.

His dokkasō though poisonous to all when in his true form, was the very substance that healed him without haste in his humanoid form. It was, what he considered, his strongest weapon. A day or two’s rest allowed for it to catalyze the immune system and heal even the most life-threatening of injuries.

Admittedly he wasn’t sure how the toxins would take to her system, after all it was a demon salve. As she grew under his supervision, he’d heal the occasional bruise or scape by simply by licking the area clean and allowing his dokkasō to do the rest but he’d never in all the years of his long life heard of it being used to heal another beings’ internal structure and he certainly never imagine he’d be attempting it with his former ward.

Yet, and it wounded him to come the stark realization, he’d been desperate.

Desperate.

It had seemed obvious then that their bond had been anything but severed, that the reach of her influence had been more encompassing than he had realized.

For he could not let her die, he would not let her die, he’d be damned if he allowed her to abandon him. It simply could not be.

It was so ironic, pathetically ironic, that he the merciless killing perfection was now trying to keep the insubordinate woman alive. He was no fool, no, not by a long shot. He knew it was not he but the youkai within him that refused to let her die and that alone should have been enough reason for him to let her die but with what little cares he possessed in the world, if Rin; particularly an enigmatic Rin was not among them, then it would be for nought.

He was a complex creature and this he knew. He sought unrivaled power and yet knew it could not keep him sated for long but Rin who had been by his side for so long, had done just that and more when she returned a puzzle.

What vexed him to no end was not understanding her place in his pack, he knew anything that his youkai cared for was inevitably a weakness; something to be used against him.

The Rin he knew was relentlessly kind, always seeking to shine her light on every situation and circumstance as if she were blinded to darkness. This Rin was clearly no stranger to the darkness, her naivete had been stripped from her through hardship it had seemed and he could not fathom how she could have strayed so far from what she was.

Or perhaps he thought, and this was a thought he had refused to acknowledge since he had caught her scent, perhaps she had simply grown into the truest version of herself; brilliant, eagle-eyed, and shrewd. The strain between them was only natural now because where she had been blinded to his faults, she could now see and be repulsed by; like everyone else.

He let out a disgruntled ‘hmph’ and turned to face her again as the moon began its subtle descent from the night time sky, indicating that morning was bout a few hours away.

He felt his features pull into a mask of momentary shock, as a most intoxicating scent inveigled him.

He inhaled deeply before he could think better of it and felt his insides clench cruelly.

Rin.

She smelled of him, more than usual, enough to buzz his senses in an acute euphoria that he couldn’t turn away from. The scent was amorous and seductive; he felt his eyes flutter close as he took in the scent again. His youkai pulsed within him and he had no doubt that if he opened his eyes now, they’d be a blood red.

So this was what the beast craved, what it yearned for. It lusted after her shamelessly.

Sesshomaru felt his claws dig into the earth beside him, he was not surprised. He was no fool, he had thought this a possibility but had brushed it off. her beauty could not make up for what she robbed him of, the Rin he had known, and her lack of submission had only rebuffed the thought more but blood….the sweet smell of blood never lied.

It smelled of her and him, it smelled of his lust and her ripened fertility, and had it not been for the lingering acidic scent of posion and salty tears, he could have basked in the scent all night.

Yes. He knew the broken man was awake. He could feel his eyes on him as he sat beside his ward but the man could not move and did not speak. He only wept.

Sesshomaru rolled his golden eyes. It seemed the man was broken in more than one way.

**_“You were once a broken man in the woods.” She breathed._ **

His eyes narrowed at the memory. The rage he’d felt in that moment was incomparable to anything he’d ever felt towards her, had it been ANYONE else he would have crushed their throat, ripped out their heart, and melted it with his dokkasō.

But it was Rin, Rin who he could not kill and would not let die, instead he threw her to the ground and seethed, flattening out a quarter of the surrounding forestry in his rage and then sitting and watching as she worked. He thought to wait until she had finished piecing him back together to kill him, in order to crush her spirit but he thought better of it.

Perhaps that was her influence too.

What a vexation.

The broken man smelt of herbs, muck, fear, and tears. He could feel the soft brown eyes make their way from him to Rin and could already scent the turmoil that took place in the fallen slayer. It seemed that he resolved on feeling enamored with his ward.

He let go of yet another sigh.

She seemed to attract every male entity towards her like a beacon of light in the darkness.

He glanced her over again, slowly. He frowned, the clothes she wore clung to her every curve and muscle to allow for optimal movement and flexibility; he knew this but he couldn’t help but feel it was another form of rebellion. He did not expect a slayer to wear full length, regal, or weighted kimonos but this certainly did not help her cause in warding off unwanted suitors.

And at that he would’ve scoffed, but he didn’t, after all he was no different it seemed. For he was well aware of the fact that the youkai in him yearned to taste her in more ways than one, even now his senses refused to ignore the fact that she smelled of him but unlike the rest he would not allow his bodily charge to determine his actions.

As if on cue his head throbbed with a thudding and numbing pain that enticed him to close his eyes and rest if only for a moment.

* * *

Yun watched as the demon closed his eyes to rest, after nearly an hour, he was certain he was asleep. It was now or never.

He gritted his teeth and pushed himself off the ground silently and pulling his body with a renewed determination towards the female slayer, all the while watching the demon. The fire still flickered over her features as he rested over her and caught his breath.

He reached beneath her armpits and began to pull her towards him to no avail. He would have to stand for this, he’d have to be able to move own his own accord. He glanced back at the demon with his eyes closed and back at the young woman whose beauty, even in the darkness, overwhelmed him with warmth.

He gently removed an offending lock of raven hair from her face and caressed her cheek with his calloused hands. He froze when her features bunched together in acute discomfort and her hand came up to rest upon his.

Her eyelids fluttered about until they finally revealed her burnished brown eyes. She slowly looked over at her hand on his and back at him in mild confusion before letting out a bloodcurdling scream.

“NO!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hang on to your socks guys. Stuff's about to go down!!!!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later than expected but better late than never, right?

Sesshomaru snarled in frustration as Rin quickly rolled atop the bandaged slayer and shielded him from the would-be fatal blow.

He pulled his light whip out and around in order to eviscerate his prey, only for Rin to tuck around the ningen in defiance. His rage surged and his beast roared, Rin cringed at the deafening sound and watched as Jaken simply hiccupped in his sleep and then turned over.

"Move aside Rin." He ordered.

"Please." She begged. "Don't."

"Now, Rin." He growled.

Her body cursed her as she curled defensively around him like a mother protecting her child. She waited for the blow that did not come and let go of a shaky breath.

"Please." She breathed.

He watched disgusted as she wearily raised her eyes to meet his and for the first time in the entirety of their companionship, he scented fear rolling off her body. It was an offense to him in every sense of the word.

"Rin." He seethed through clenched teeth.

Rin could feel herself go cold, the look in his eyes was inhumane, without emotion, and it rattled her. He looked like a demon.

She had never seen him this way, at least not towards her and yet it was not her life she feared for, no, even now with fangs bared, eyes red, and claws drawn; she knew he would not hurt her. This was her Lord, her Sesshomaru, the only person on the planet that claimed her. The first person, the first being that had given her a place in the world, that had taken her in; the only reason she could say she was no orphan. He had given her life, he had given her friends, family, the world; and she was as much his as he was hers. After all no connection was formed one way, she had to believe this, it was this belief that had inspired her to journey to him in order to find her place, and as this understanding dawned on her she came to understand his ire.

Surely, he did not feel for her the unyielding need that she had felt for him her whole life but he was a demon, possessiveness was more than just a trait he was known to have; it was all that he was. From his father's sword and lands, to her life and service, he could not help but want what was owed to him.

She swallowed to moisten her drying mouth and prayed to whatever kami listening that she was correct in her assumption and execution.

"He – he meant me no harm, he didn't know." She stuttered.

Sesshomaru glared at her fruitlessly, he could hear her, but it seemed he wasn't listening or hadn't heard anything worth letting his guard down, so she continued.

"My life is yours my Lord, he didn't know. How could he?" she breathed.

Sesshomaru could feel his youkai being appeased by her words especially now as the smell of fear began to dissipate from her. He knew in his right mind that she was coaxing him to her will and yet his youkai yearned for this acknowledgement.

The broken slayer who had smelled of nothing but seedy lust and turmoil, now reeked of fear. The ningen no longer posed a threat to the defenseless woman he had sworn to protect and the being within him bristled, torn between killing him and indulging her.

"I belong to you." She said steadily as they locked eyes once again. "You and only you." She promised.

As if she had released him from a spell she had cast, his youkai relinquished the hold of rage over him and Sesshomaru stood from his crouched position and retracted his whip before hissing audibly at the pair.

"Tell him to keep his hand to himself." He warned the slayer before walking over to the tree, sinking gracefully to the ground, and closing his eyes.

The slayer looked up at his at the woman he lay atop him and opened his mouth to thank her, she placed her hand over his mouth and shook her head ferociously though in a small and secretive manner as to not disturb the daiyoukai who sat a mere 10 paces from them.

He took her hint and nodded. She crawled off him slowly, obviously still in pain from whatever efforts had depleted her strength and lay down beside him. Though her movements showed obvious signs of discomfort, she sighed a breath that seemed to be of relief and closed her eyes; as if nothing had happened.

As if a demon hadn't threatened their lives, as if she had not just promised her life to a demon, as if they had nothing to fear from the same demon that had tried to kill them just moments ago.

Yun watched as her eyes fluttered closed and as sleep took her. His body trembled uncontrollably and though it seemed as though the present danger had been momentarily dealt with, the strange entourage that kept him company slept soundly while he watched the sun rise through wide frightened eyes.

* * *

Rin knew her eyes were closed and yet it felt as though they were open as the sun's warmth overtook her vision and body. She stretched cautiously knowing that she'd be bruised from her ambitious pursuits the day prior and was surprised when she realized that nothing was sore.

She slowly began to arch her back off the ground and further stretch her limbs, she flexed her muscles and finally opened her eyes. She looked around the campsite and noted the fire had been put out and that a small gathering of fruit had been placed beside her, although her Lord and Jaken were nowhere to be found.

Rin looked over her body and brought her hand to her throat, she felt parched. Her throat had been so hot and irritated the night before, she wasn't surprised she was so thirsty if anything she was surprised that her throat hadn't been more damaged.

She shuddered as the images of the previous night came back to her; the ogre, the battle, the blood.

Assassin.

The word burrowed itself into the recesses of her mind, its rancid roots taking hold of her esteem and attempting to strangle her with its grip.

Assassin.

She abhorred the name and the rights that accompanied it, she battled with it daily and she would not allow anyone to bestow the title on her so freely. Demon or human, friend or foe, companion or Lord.

She was no longer an adolescent she would not let the word and its mutual thoughts deter her, they would not ruin her like they used to, they would not determine the weight or essence of her character or being and it would not be her legacy.

She speared her fingers through her tangled locks and released her steadying breath to regain her composure.

She could feel where her hair had matted at her temples as she had sweat out her fever. She had felt so ill last night she was sure that she would have become a burden to her Lord, even in spite of her efforts to rinse off the scent of acid and poison. She had not often been ill as a child but when she had taken ill, it was always for the worse. She would be bedridden for weeks on end and damn near incapacitated.

And yet as she began to strip from her slayer's gear to inspect her would be battle bruises and scars, she could swear that she felt fine; better than fine even. She wasn't even sore. As she prepared to pull her top over her head, her taunt stomach bared and tapped breasts nearly exposed, the slayer spoke.

"Are you his whore or his captive?" he asked, his flushed face turned away from her.

Rin forced her shirt down and felt her cheeks burn at her lack of decorum. She'd almost completely forgotten his existence let alone his presence.

"I'm so sorry." She started.

"Please." Yun said in a broken voice. "I've been tormented enough. Answer me."

"Neither." Rin promised. "I am his companion."

In spite of the dread that filled his heart, Yun laughed bitterly.

"Do not think me so naïve woman. Spare me these lies." He barked.

Rin could feel her brow furrow in frustration. It was as if no matter how hard she tried to leave one life or title behind it followed her. she recalled all to vividly the women who had called her a demon's whore in that snake pit village that neighbored the hut she shared with Kaede or worse the people who pitied her and called her a victim of his mental and spiritual abuse.

It seemed this slayer would be the same, unwilling to understand. She sighed.

"I save you," she started off slowly, "I have treated your wounds and kept you fed, I have saved you from a demon's hand. Would you call me a friend or a foe?"

Yun turned back to look at her, her face forlorn but patient as she awaited his answer.

"What will the sheep call the shepherd? What will he call the man that feeds and looks after him, only to slaughter him later on?" He replied.

Rin smiled wearily as she nodded in understanding.

"Ahhh. I see." She admitted. "But I regret to inform you I am neither a shepherd or a farmer. I am simply a woman on a mission."

"A woman?" he echoed.

"Yes, last I checked that is what they called those of my sex." She said with a kind smirk.

The slayer blushed and looked away pointedly.

"Then they use the term too loosely my good woman, for one of your station should surely go by another name." He mused.

Rin brought a finger to her lips, curiosity baiting her.

"What name would you have me shoulder?" she asked.

"Spirit, enchantress, charlatan, whore." He listed.

Rin kept her face composed before it broke out into a full smile and chuckle.

"You laugh?" The slayer bit.

Rin threw her head back as another roll of laughter swept through her.

"Excuse me." she begged as she laughed. "I-I certainly mean to take your sentiments seriously but-", another peel of laughter cut her off as it racked her body and brought tears to her bright eyes. She brought her hands up to dab at the tears.

"Have you no sense of decency? Have you renounced your ties to humanity so thoroughly slayer?" Yun spit at acidly.

Rin's laughter was cut short as she looked at him and smiled, "How can one cut ties they've never had?" she asked in a most sincere tone, her head cocked to the side and her eyes patient.

"Will you speak in riddles all day then? To drive me mad the way women do." Yun asked earnestly.

Rin laughed genuinely then, her hair tumbling over her shoulders in a riot as she threw her head back.

"Oh, so now I am a woman?" She asked rhetorically. "You're funny. Your type always is." She observed through her remaining laughter.

"My type?" he repeated.

"Oh yes." Rin nodded. "The type of man that, in his narrow-minded piety, sits above all others and dictates the judgement that shall befall the rest, even the kami. I do wonder how thin the air must be down there."

"Up there." He corrected in a grunted tone.

Rin cocked a shapely brow at him. "I assure you good sir that I do mean down but I suppose when one's head is so far up their ass, even down looks up."

Yun couldn't help but smile, albeit grudgingly, alongside her. Her joy was infectious, her laughter boisterous, and her smile gut wrenching.

"I would say your language does not suit your station, but you've not answered me and so I don't know what your station is...slayer." he reminded her as her laughter began to subside.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled, glad that he had at least come to his senses enough to call her by a name that was worth having. "Forgive me, I lack the upbringing of a proper lady I suppose and am far too unbothered to attempt to care now, that and I've forgotten the question." She admitted.

He hated that even in her ire, she managed to look sincere, like she actually cared for his wellbeing.

"Captive or whore, friend or foe?" he repeated.

Rin sighed, "I am truly neither slayer, I am his companion on this journey as we share a similar goal and from there on, I know not what I am to him."

She watched as he determined whether or not to believe her.

"Of all the company a fair maiden could keep, you choose the company of youkai, no, of a daiyoukai. Do you truly expect anyone to believe that you have not been sullied? That you have not sold yourself like some cheap concubine or commodity? How did you even cross paths with such a ferocious beast? Why do you so easily pledge your allegiance to him? What could you possibly-"

Rin let go of a frustrated breath, "As for your second question," she started in a hard voice. "What I am to you depends on what you are to me. If you prove yourself a friend then a friend I shall be, if otherwise then I shall be what you asked of me on the first night of our acquaintance. Your escort to the next realm." She promised.

Yun felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he truly took in her seriousness. She was a slayer to be feared, young or not, beautiful or not.

"Hear me and understand well slayer for I am not in the habit of repeating myself, after all the company I keep has sharp ears. As things are now, we are not friends so you neither have the right to ask these questions nor I the obligation to answer them. What we are, what we all are," she reiterated to include the non-present company, "are beings with a common goal. We seek to end the tirade of the ogre demons, a force that if not soon dealt with, will plague us all. You can either pledge your allegiance to this cause and to the demon lord spearheading it or be left here to die of malnutrition."

He met her gaze, a chill running down his spine. "Are those my only two options?" he asked.

"Yes." Rin said simply.

"What would you call someone who offered you such a choice? Friend or foe?" he asked.

"A shepherd." Rin replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who knew Rin had a backside? Not Yun that's for sure. Let's hope I can get another chapter up by tonight.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one week. Is it even possible to write a third? We'll just have to find out.

He groaned through clenched teeth as her used heat encased his stiff and ready member, her shrill moans of pleasure assaulting his sensitive ears as his girth stretched and filled her to capacity, the remnant smell of a previous mixed euphoric scent still in his mind spurring his actions on. He folded over her pale body and pounded into her, his claws sinking into the soft flesh of her hips as he planted her body in submission to his.

Her nails tore at the soft ground beneath them as her body surrendered to his, she reveled in his possession, in the way his lean and firm muscles lined her back as his weight crushed hers, the firmness in which he held her, and the way the bass of his growls sent torrents of pleasure up her spine and back down to her toes, while the very air he breathed by her neck made her hairs stand.

A gasp turned sob of violent pleasure, escaped her throat as he increased speed, the youkai in him beginning to surface and tear into her. Her muddy brown orbs glanced back at him as his marking became jagged and eyes crimson with titillation. Her long white limbs could hold out no longer, her thoughts scattering as she began to near her peak, finally she screamed as the stars exploded behind her now closed lids and bliss overwhelmed her senses.

He growled furiously as he released his searing hot seed into her, filling and satiating her until she could take no more and fell limb beneath him. She could hear the deafening breaths she felt sawing into her lungs, after such vigorous exercise, envelop her auditory ability and lull her into a much welcome sleep. Though it was not to be as the regal Lord of the West pulled her hindquarters back into alignment with his length and began to take her again. She screamed as her entered her without warning and nearly blacked out as he picked up the pace between them as if they had just started this dance, though they had been at it for hours. She wouldn't complain, never. If this was her only calling in life, her only place, she would never complain.

He grabbed her hair, circled it around one hand and pulled her head up towards his lips. Her heart beat unevenly as she let herself hope for a moment of meaningful passion between them; a kiss.

"Be. Quiet." He ground out before pulling her onto him and penetrating her deeply; the best punishment one could receive she reasoned.

She nodded her consent lazily as her head lolled back in uninhibited pleasure.

He had no qualms with her noise making, it would have in any other occasion inflated his ego, but as he glanced towards the direction of the small camp he'd left earlier that morning he knew even if he refused to acknowledge that the silence between them was for neither parties satisfaction; it was for hers.

* * *

"Does the shepherd have a name?" the slayer asked as he sat uncomfortably upon the two headed dragon that flew towards a source of water he had yet to see. The woman before him rode the beast expertly, her legs on either side of the beast, her body bouncing while the ebony locks flowing behind her danced on the wind.

She acted as if she were not the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, as if her mere presence was not proof of the kami and their favoritism. All the while, he watched as the sun caressed her face and brightened her features.

Favoritism.

It was not a gift he had been granted in life, like the many of the slayers he called family, he had been orphaned at a young age due to the meddlesome and vile nature of low-level demons with no remorse or regard for lost lives.

"My name is Rin." Rin replied absentmindedly as she gently tugged on the reigns of A-Un to get him to descend slowly.

Her name was simple but not commonplace, it was one he had never come across in his travels if one could call them that. He spent most of his life struggling to survive, stealing, fighting, hunting in towns he would walk through as a child until he was old enough to live by other means.

"Yun, my name is Yun." The slayer replied.

Rin turned back and smiled softly, "Nice to meet you Yun. I hope we can grow to be friends."

He chuckled blackly, "You've given me no alternative my Lady, I might as well make the best of it. I don't have many lady friends, tell me, are they all as conniving as you?"

"No." She promised.

"That's a relief." Yun replied.

"They are usually much more vicious except they are more subtle I would say and the more subtle they are, the more weary you should be. After all, an enemy in the light is easier to defeat than an enemy in the shadows."

"What pitiless words for the sex that claims you." He observed.

"They are more so for the race that claims me." She replied in earnest.

"Is that why you consort with demons?" he asked.

"I thought I warned you about questions." Rin mused as they landed softly on the ground and she began to dismount the loyal beast. She patted the demon softly on both heads before turning away.

"Perhaps if you answered some, I wouldn't have so many." Yun smiled amused at the thought of having vexed her.

"I have a sneaking suspicion that if I answer the few, it will only be followed by the many." She retorted as she began to lead them towards the water.

Yun opened his mouth to argue with her and then realized that she might actually be right, everything about her confounded him and seemed so far off from what he thought she ought to have been. Unlike the many ladies he had met in his life, she seemed completely disillusioned, she seemed to see everything as it was and seemed better for it. So he decided he would answer her honestly, perhaps it would better their understanding of another.

"You are not wrong, you confound me." he confessed. "And I wish to understand and not judge you."

Rin looked at him, her facial composure now revealing her shock.

"What a difference a mere flight makes on a man." She said. "Are you so afraid of A-Un that you would place us on the same celestial plane?"

"Is your tongue always so sharp?" he laughed. "You did not seem so cynical when I first laid eyes on you, your beauty is a farce."

"And yet so if your bias, slayer." Rin countered.

His laughter was cut short as his eyes danced mischievously.

"And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?" He asked.

"You do not hesitate to call me a whore and a charlatan, but you seem to be the only one between us that is so concerned about my handsome features. If you must know, the beauty you refer to is absolutely meaningless to me. Though I am sure it has aided me in this life, it has certainly condemned me many times over."

"Certainly, you jest." Yun supplied.

Rin shrugged, "No, I do not. You are a testament to this, you are so blinded by my features that during our first acquaintance you thought me an angel of death, now this same beauty has led you to believe that I must be a concubine or enchantress working alongside a demon to ensnare men as prey. But yet and still you risk both of our lives to coddle me in the dead of night while the same demon slept not 15 paces away."

Yun flushed and sputtered about before composing himself and repeating an old proverb. "Beauty is power, a smile is its sword."

Rin cocked a brow at him and considered his words as she brought A-Un to kneel by the water.

"It is not your beauty I study, but your choice of weaponry." He concluded.

At that Rin had to laugh.

"I see." Rin conceded. "You are not without reason."

"And you are not without sense." Yun admitted. "So give me a reason to trust you, to pledge my allegiance to this cause of yours."

Rin opened her mouth to remind him of her previous statements.

"A reason that does not threaten my life." Yun challenged. "A man needs something to live for aside from survival. He needs a place, a purpose in the world."

"I'm afraid I have no purpose to give you, I am still seeking my own." Rin confessed as she helped him dismount the dragon.

"So, you expect me to repay my debt to you for eternity? You save me and so I am bound to follow you and your cause until my last breath?" he argued. "That hardly seems fair and its certainly no reason to live."

"So you'd rather I kill you or leave you for dead?" Rin asked.

"No." Yun said firmly.

Rin smirked, for a man that seemed adamant about having a life worth living and not surviving, he sure was afraid of the alternative she noted.

"That isn't what I meant. There you go being obstinate again, I simply don't believe you've thought this through. What creature loyal or no, could follow someone to possibly the ends of the earth with debt being the only thing at heart? It's not feasible."

"Tell me Yun, what more do you have to live for? You are alone in the world, all you know have been slaughtered in battle, you are wounded, and at the mercy of myself and my Lord. You say living for nothing is hard but let me remind you that dying for nothing is easy. If not the cause I've laid before you, what have you to live for?"

She watched as his face became somber and his eyes serious, "You." He breathed.

Rin gasped.

"Do not think me a fool or a sentimental creature Rin, I am neither. It is neither your beauty nor your kind words," he said joked dryly, "that have led me to this conclusion but my purpose in life. In the same way that you have saved me, I will save you. You claim that you and this demon lord share the same cause, but how can this be? He is using you, even if you are unaware, you must know that no good can come from your acquaintance with him. He has meddled with your mind and has made a puppet and a mockery of you. What can a demon want with a maiden like you? Slayer or no, his power is unmatched, his status is unthreatened, if he seeks to annihilate the ogre threat than let him do so alone."

Rin frowned. "I don't need saving." She started.

"You don't understand." Yun told her vehemently, cutting her off in the process.

"No, you don't understand. The demon you speak of has saved my life not once but countless times. Serving him now would never be enough to express my thanks to him-"

"You foolish girl, the debt you speak of can never be repaid! If he did indeed save your life, you would be wise to leave his service now while you still can or should you bend to his will, you'll find yourself in his service until your dying breath." Yun snapped at her.

Rin could feel her patience thinning.

"Lord Sesshomaru is not like that." She replied.

"The demon abuses you in your sleep, takes your affections without hesitation and you think he aids you?! You are already under his spell!"

"Enough!" Rin cried. "He would never-"

"Oh but he did!" Yun continued. "While you succumbed to your exhaustion, he bruised your lips again and again, I could only watch as he just narrowly avoided taking you there and then! It was divine intervention that he seemed to lose interest in an unconscious partner to warm his lions."

Rin felt her tongue run over her lips as she brought her finger tips to her lips.

"Whatever it is you think you bore witness to last night, I assure you was not as it seemed. You would do well to remember your position slayer." She said in a hard and steady voice.

Yun opened his mouth to speak and she brought her hand up to stop him.

"You are mistaken Yun." She told him outright. "I will not hear one more ill word about him, you could not possibly understand."

She watched as his tawny eyes narrowed in their sockets, "I only tell you what I would tell a friend."

"Then perhaps aspiring to a friendship is too ambitious a task for us." She replied coldly.

"Friends can disagree." He maintained.

Rin looked at him in confusion, "What is it you're after?"

"I told you," he said, "I want to save you as you saved me."

"And if I don't require saving?" She pressed.

"Then we've nothing more to discuss aside from what we will do once we put an end to this crisis alongside your Lord." He said simply through stiff moving lips.

Rin didn't budge or say a word.

"I would like to be your friend Rin and if your Lord is as benevolent as you say he is I have no wish to sway your opinion otherwise, I would even be willing to follow him as loyally as you do, but I would like to make that judgement myself. It's only fair."

"Fine." Rin breathed. "But just is not the same as nice and you would do well to remember that in your dealings with him."

"I've already learned that with you." He said dryly.

Rin forced a smile, "Yes, well better with me than with him."

"So, what now?" Yun asked as she held him to sit down at the water's edge and knelt before him.

"Now," Rin said as she smiled cheekily and grabbed the lapel or his slayer's wear, "we bathe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot stress how much I am loving the interaction in the comments and private messages. I love hearing your thoughts and opinions about the story and the characters, I love that you like certain quotes and not others, it really just brings me through the roof. Hoping you enjoy this chapter and the ones to follow. ;)


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but present.

"I said no, Rin." he said through flushed cheeks, as he pushed away her persistent and nimble hands.

She was stealthy and faster than he had given her credit for originally and that was a mistake he could not afford to make again as she leveled him with her gaze.

She was truly like no other force he had ever been met with before.

He wrapped his arms defensively around his torso and pulled to the side, his face heating much to his preexisting chagrin. He watched as she laughed from the corner of his eyes, she clutched her abdomen as a peel of laughter rolled through her, her loosened hair falling over her shoulders and her somber face finally contorting into that of amusement.

"Yun," she laughed, "Do not-"

Another laugh cut her off as she brought a soft hand to her eyes to wipe away her tears at his mortified expression.

"Do not tell me you are a modest man sir, I won't believe you." she chuckled.

Yun tightened his arms around himself in defiance, he could feel his face slipping into a pout. She had already stripped him of the first layer of his wear, in an attempt to completely disrobe him. He'd been so shocked by her actions that he nearly lost his bottoms to her, but by the time her flesh had nearly brushed across his he'd pulled himself upright and away from her.

She placed her hands on her hips, "After such bold and indifferent conversation, while you thought I was a demon's property no less, I would have thought you fearless."

"Ha! Afraid?! As if!"

She cocked an elegant brow at him, "Oh?" she replied.

He nodded fiercely, "Despite your brash language and crude intentions, you are still a lady, uncouth as you may be and I am trying, amiably I might add, to protect whatever sense of decency and decorum you have left!"

"I am honored truly to be in the presence of such a noble man, not only do you seek to save me from a demonic demise, but you intend to preserve my decency as well. You who thought me a concubine." She reminded him softly.

He rolled his eyes.

"Concubines are still women, are they not?" he questioned.

"Is it women you are afraid of Yun?" Rin asked eagerly to met with his narrowed eyes. "Would you feel better if I were a man undressing you?"

He spluttered wordlessly as she smirked at his obvious discomfort.

"I may not be a concubine, but the male form is nothing I am unused to, I was raised by a village miko after all." She informed him.

At that the slayer looked taken aback.

"You were raised by a priestess?" he asked baffled.

"Yes. Try not to sound so surprised Yun, I might take offense." Rin scolded him.

At that he smirked, "Would you really?" he asked rhetorically before answering, "I doubt it."

Rin smirked mischievously before squatting before him once more to resume her previous actions.

"Saved by a demon, raised by a priestess, trained as a slayer; is there anything else I should know abut you Rin?" he asked curiously.

She leaned into him, her very nearness wreaking havoc on his senses, sending them into overdrive like the sorceress she was.

"Yes." She whispered chillingly as her finger looped into the hem of his bottoms, "I'm quite impatient."

* * *

He was sated though not satisfied; the beast in him still craving her but settling after having had a decent portion.

He'd sent Jaken to retrieve human medicine for Rin, from the nearest human village knowing that would take him ages and he doubted Rin would wake up and search for him. He had not hidden his actions, no, certainly not. He had no reason to, he simply owed them no explanation and preferred his privacy.

Even now as he waded in the water and allowed the woman to bathe him with the finest soaps and scented oils, her hands lingering and teasing his body before caressing his neck, markings, and finally washing his hair; he knew as a Lord over the land he'd earned this. He'd earned this right, their loyalty, and subjugation.

He'd done enough, he had learned compassion, he'd surpassed his father, he staked his claim, he was a just and fair if not firm ruler, and even now he-

He snarled as his train of thought was interrupted.

Hiina.

Her hands consciously strayed from their task, bringing his arousal back to life, and though the beast in him imagined more delicate hands at work on his body, he could not deny that she had quenched his desire soundly for the time being. A gift bestowed upon them both by the kami.

Her name was Hiina, the palace concubine, the only concubine he had taken since his time at Palace West. She was always his preference for she had two things he had come to appreciate; a desire to please him and saturninity. Unlike the courtiers, counsel men, and advisors that littered his palace; she only spoke when spoken to and was only visible when he called for her. Like the wind, she was liberated enough in her mind to have an opinion but flowed through the canopies of aristocracy without much detection, unaware of how soothing her mere presence was. And much like the wind, he found, she was a turbulent force to be recognized within the heat of passion; her carefree mannerisms hinting nothing of her sexual exploits and expertise.

They had a mutual understanding; an agreement of sorts. They took what they needed from one another selfishly like the beasts they were and didn't look back, did not pretend for the sake of the other or those who knew of their affairs. Like the sun and moon they were partners in a dance where their best performances were those done separately.

In spite of this unwritten contract, he knew that she had quiet ambitions. She was the only concubine he visited and the only one he summoned even on trips away from the Palace West. Had he been any other ruler, she would have been deemed a favorite or mistress even, poised for the position of being his future mate and bearer of his heirs.

But it was not to be, she had not earned a place at his side, she had not earned his mark nor his seed. As amiable as she was, she lacked something profoundly, something that made the thought of mating her sickening. There was an emptiness between them that he both appreciated and scorned, but he was a complex being and he would not waste what time he had on such matters when it was so obvious to him. If she could not see it then it was beyond him; she did her job, a job he appreciated but a job nonetheless.

He pulled her before him roughly and preparing to sit her down on his length when a scent washing down the stream, asphyxiated his lust and curbed his satisfied temperament. He growled viciously now, pulling himself up into a standing position and pulling her towards his unintentionally, tightening his grasp on her until she yelped at the pain of his acidic claws.

"My Lord!" she begged.

He released her immediately, a if he'd been struck with lightening.

"Go." He ordered.

"Hai." She bowed, before transforming into a ball of light and shooting across the sky.

_Rin._  His mind seethed as he fully recognized the scent.  _Rin, the slayer, and ogres_.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> & We're back! Thank you for those of you who have waited patiently, for those of you who continued to comment and support. Know that I have no intentions of abandoning this story or any story of mine. Life continues to throw curve balls and I am learning to adjust is all. Enjoy!

"My obāsan would say that if you weren't careful, your face could stay that way." Rin said with a wry smile as she gently washed over the slayer's battered body. She glided her course fingers over him as softly as she could manage while looking over his wounds and cleaning his nude form.

He tried to ignore the way her feather light touches left his blood boiling and his skin scorched. She seemed to have no qualms about the intimate moment they shared, a moment he would have with no one aside from the woman he would wed. She had washed over him diligently, from his scalp to the heels of his feet; scrubbing him over, no part of him untouched and renewed by her.

There was no virgin blush on her cheeks, no shyness, and yet there was a humble modesty about her. She was completely at ease, as if it were nothing to her, as if this day was the same as the last and would be the same on the next. Yet he knew the blood in his cheeks gave away his dueling discomfort and pleasure. He found himself thanking the kami for the pain that hummed through his body, overwhelming the senses enough to overpower his corporal lust or he'd find himself truly humiliated in her presence. Though in earnest, he doubted that would be the case, she was so unlike the women he was accustomed to. Her eyes held no mirth or mischief now, just purpose and acceptance. It was welcome, more than welcome.

The sight of his body so beaten and brightly colored, made his stomach turn. He looked and felt like abused and rotting fruit. She had removed the bandages and gritted her teeth before standing abruptly and grabbing the washcloth.

_**How bad is it?** _

He tried but the question wouldn't go further than the tip of his tongue, refusing to leave the shelter of his mind. Yet as his morbid curiosity would have it, he watched her for every reaction, anything to indicate his state of health.

She gave nothing away, her face calm and serene, unbothered and unaffected by the world. She moved with the grace of a predator, sinuous and precise.

She gingerly moved him into the water and worked over his body like he were a new born babe in the arms of a mother instead of a slayer in the hands of a captive.

He'd been covered in dirt, mud, and blood; most of it from their most recent travels and thankfully not from the fatal night of their encounter. He smelled of sweat and herbs but as she laid his body in midst of water running between, around, and under them, he could feel his skin come alive. The water, cool and clean, washed over him and removed the layer of grime that had nestled into his person so deep it could have permeated the soul. She sat behind him, her small hands on either side of his face, holding his head firmly above water; steadying him.

He could feel the water rush against his open wounds but made no complaint. Not when just days ago he had pleaded with the kami to allow the water to guide him into the next life. He closed his eyes as he felt the water ebb away the sting of bitter tears.

Everything. Everyone. He'd lost it all. Again. The water rushed his ears as the shouts of his comrades deafened his mind as he recalled that smoky night. How could it have all gone so terribly? He could hear it now the sound of screaming women and children, the ringing that accompanied the blows the beast had landed on him.

**YUN!**

He could hear Kohaku's voice blaring for him before he succumbed to the darkness.

**YUN!**

Kohaku. How much more torment could the soul bare?

His brother, his comrade, his confidant. His eyes and ears.

Dead. And all that he had come to know with him.

He felt his soul tearing apart as he mourned his only remaining family.

What had happened to him? Had he been in danger when he called? Had death been swift?

**YUN!**

_I'm so sorry Kohaku. I am so so sorry._

**YUN!**

_Forgive me._

* * *

Rin watched as the man in her hands trembled, as the tears that poured from his closed eyes fell with more force than the coursing river they sat in and weighed heavily in her hand and heart. She watched as his demons ate away at him and her heart broke for the slayer.

She could see in him what she knew others had seen in her, what she had so often seen in herself every day for the past decade. There was no torment greater, no enemy crueler, no place colder than the recesses of one's mind as their most miserable thoughts came loose and tore at the sheets of their being.

The thoughts that deemed them useless and unworthy, the thoughts that transcended time and yet trapped them in the present.

"Yun." She breathed softly, letting the pads of her thumbs stroke his face soothingly.

His eyes opened slowly, his body succumbing to a stillness, as he looked up at her as if in a dream.

She could see the devastation in his eyes and watched as his guard now in tatters, took its place at the forefront of his soul. She sighed before looking up; giving him a moment to collect himself.

"You must think-" He began softly.

"I think nothing." She promised. "I simply am. As present as the breeze, as calm as the sky, and as unseen as the air we breathe."

A trembling breath escaped him as relief coursed through his veins.

The moment was short lived.

Rin felt the man in her arms relax and felt her own body sag though not with relief but apprehension.

Would there never be a moment of peace? She wondered.

The hair on the back of her neck stood as every nerve ending in her body screamed.

"A-Un." She commanded. The two headed beast came to their side at a moment's notice. She braced the slayer's upper body against her knees as she lunged for her blades. She would have no time to dawn her gear, her simple cotton yukata would have to suffice, though it was wet and hung on her heavily.

"A-Un guard!" she said as she thrusted, as gently as she possibly could, the slayer unto his saddle.

She spun around and watched as three beasts erupted from the blanket of forestry and leered over them.

"Look at what we have here."

* * *

Sesshomaru snarled lowly as he raced towards the scent being washed down stream. A new scent, one so familiar to him, now hummed over his senses. His youkai roared in rage and he could feel his body fading away as he became light and shot through the sky.

Damn her. He thought before he cursed again.


	26. Chapter 26

"Look at what we have here."

Rin gripped her swords as her eyes met with those of three demons, who stood proudly at twice her size.

She was never one to judge but she truly could not understand how some creatures were simply grotesque to envision let alone come face to face with.

"Look brother; we've stumbled upon a small feast." the one to the left bellowed. "And they have livestock."

Rin could feel her nails digging into the cloth that wrapped the hilt of her swords. Livestock, the great beat that donned two heads, feared by many, and gentle to all would be considered livestock for these gargantuan parasites. The comment alone was enough to ground her, there would be no fight here. Certainly not. She was not daft or bold enough to think that she would stand a fighting chance against these brutes. Outsmarting one opponent was easy, a set of eyes could be distracted, a nose could be fooled, a pair of hands easily dodged but 3 behemoth sets of each?

Her hand twitched towards her thigh which should have held another smoke bomb before that state of her person rushed back into her recollection.

Life had always been cruel, Rin thought, but never without humor. In a point in life where she felt defenseless against the tides of humanity; pulling her towards an existence without meaning of fulfillment, drowned by its inferiorities and yet liberated by her spirit; she couldn't help but note the irony of such a moment.

She was as naked as a new born babe, without armor, without real clothes even before her greatest challenge.

She felt her full lips turn up into a smirk.

This was a battle that could not be won, she concluded, but it would sure as hell be the stuff of legends. The kami would applaud her audacity and she would be damned sure that she didn't meet them alone.

The ogre that stood at the forefront smiled down at her as he took in her expression. "She intends to fight." he sneered. "That will make this all the more interesting. Grab the cattle and the man." He ordered as he began to lunge towards her.

Rin jumped back and her two-headed companion did the same.

"Ah-Un, fly!" She ordered.

The two headed beast whined in protest.

"Run you foolish girl!" Yun yelled at her.

"Now!"

The beast took off into the sky but not without shooting off a few shots towards where the ogres stood and staying within surveilling distance.

* * *

Blood. The smell that made the silver hairs on his body stand up was blood. His youkai roared as the scent became watered down and started covering the area like a blanket. This was no ordinary blood of course, it was Rin's. He pushed himself faster and further feeling the wind bite at his features .

Damn her.

* * *

The ogre roared as Rin attempted to push herself off the boulder she had landed on as a result of his back blow. Her vision blurred and pain rang from the left side of her body. She could see the river run red and she wondered whose blood was seeping out so densely.

The ogre fell to his knees as he lamented his grave wound, a blade was embedded in his eye socket, a miscalculation on her part. She has been aiming for the center of his skull as she landed the blow but he had been faster than she had imagined.

As he lunged at her, she had used his momentum against him, running towards an boulders that sat at an upward and slanted position in the water to jump off and land the blow. She had miscalculated two things though, the weight of her soaked yukata and its effect on her ability to jump and his speed. As her landed her blow, he landed his and the minute they made contact Rin swore to every kami she knew, cursing his demon strength. He sent her soaring back towards the same boulder and she had heard a chorus of crunches upon impact before succumbing to a brief moment of darkness.

She could hear Ah-Un's distress and Yun's melody of curses. Then she heard Ah-Un's cry of pain as his foes took advantage of his distraction.

One of his comrades lay unconscious but alive after sparring at a distance with Ah-Un, but if the dragon took one more hit from them, he too was going to see the kami.

The other comrade was rushing towards their leader now and Rin cursed herself for having underestimated their capacity.

"Rin!" she could hear Yun shouting as she got to her feet unsteadily. With one sword in hand, the only working hand she had at the moment, she was going to give them enough time to escape.

She spat out the mouthful of blood that threatened to gag her and growled.

"You!" the ogre seethed. He began charging towards her and Rin stood her ground determined to make her sensei proud. She would not cower before death at the hands of an opponent she would not do Sango, Inuyasha, or Kohaku the dishonor. She would not humiliate her Lord or herself in these last moments, she would be as lethal and determined as they had raised her to be.

And with that thought she forced her broken body into a sprint and narrowly dodged the blow coming her, to no avail as she took a small portion of the blow by her hip and continued towards the ogre that had stayed kneeling in the water.

By the time the giant looked up at the shocked cry of his partner, Rin, using her small frame and speed as her last living advantage, forced her blade into his throat and watched as the life left his eyes before being pulled back and thrown to the ground like a child's doll. She could feel her body bounce of the ground with a sickening snap before pain like nothing she had ever felt before exploded throughout her body.

"Jiro!" she heard the ogre call, but there was no response. She knew that time she had not missed. As if being called from her body by something outside of her, Rin gagged before vomiting and small ravine of blood and mucus. Her vision became spotted as she felt the tremors of the earth as the last remaining ogre walked over to her. She rolled one bleary eye over to the fiend before smiling what she knew was probably a bloodied and broken smile.

He held a boulder atop his shoulder and she knew then this boulder would serve as her sepulcher.

"DAMN! YOU!" He shouted

"Rin!" Yun shouted.

"Ah-Un." Rin whispered knowing the beast would hear her from their distance. "Fly."

Her vision went dark but not before hearing a roar of rage.

* * *

Kohaku and Seirin watched as Yuichi brought the blade in full swing across the jugular of the beast and then ran across the riverside to gently pick up the battered woman and bring her under the coverage of the trees.

"There's another one in water," Yuichi looked over the scene in the water and shook his head.

The deceased body of one ogre had begun to decay in a demonic manner as it released poinous gas into the air and he quickly made haste to regroup with the small team of slayers under the brush of the trees. He removed his mask and looked down at the woman Seirin crouched over now; he flinched away in horror. She looked nearly deformed, her face swollen, painted in the colors of her bruises and terribly bloodied.

"She must have been bathing when they attacked her." Seirin explained as she adjusted the torn and bloodied yukata in an attempt to cover her more, though not much showed due to the way the cloth stuck to the blood seeping out of her.

Kohaku ground his teeth. "Three of them, she had to fight off three of those beasts alone."

"She never stood a chance." Yuichi spat. "She must've fought like hell though. There's a body in that river too, a dead one."

"Let the last one live." Kohaku ordered. "He'll lead us to their camp after sundown. Come, let's get her to camp and see what can be done for her."

Kohaku picked her up gently and felt a chill run up his spine.

"Hurry." He urged them.

"Something is coming this way. Something…" He paused to shake off another chill and began walked quickly. "Something evil."

* * *

Sesshomaru burst through the trees, startling the wounded Ah-Un, who immediately recovered from the shock and went to greet his master. His scales showing tears and wounds the least of his concern as he nudged Sesshomaru's chest almost pleadingly.

Sesshomaru walked to the waterfront and cursed as he saw two dead ogres by the water and no sight of Rin, though the place reeked of her blood. Instead a glimmer in the water caught his attention and he found himself picking up a broken blade a second later.

_**Rin.**_  He thought uneasily.

* * *

"Please." a masculine voice called to him. He looked over and saw the broken man, naked, sitting behind a tree. "We must save her."

Sesshomaru turned to leave.

"Please!" He cried out desperately. "She must mean something to you! She saved my life, the fiends must have made off with her body, she's not here. They ambushed her and she saved me and the dragon before trying to face them herself, I will tell you all I know but please - save her!"

Sesshomaru said nothing as he took this in.

Yun watched as the daiyoukai made no move and simply stood there as if hell had not just broken lose and taken the woman he had so freely used.

Where had he been? Where had Rin's master been when she had so desperately needed him? When her body had hit the ground and made those heart wrenching sounds of defeat. Where had he been when she chose to give her life up for his and for the sake of this man's dragon? Just where had her most precious Lord been?

Why did he not come to lend them his power? Yun ground his teeth and swallowed his pride.

"I beg of you, My Lord." He pleaded through clenched teeth, bowing his head.

* * *

"Ah-Un." Sesshomaru said in his quiet but deadly tone. The broken man's head snapping up in surprise at the sound of his voice.

The dragon came before him, but he did not turn to acknowledge him. "Bring Jaken here, to this broken slayer. " He ordered.

Jaken had already gone to get human supplies as it was, supplies this man would need.

Ah-Un brought his head to the small of Sesshomaru's back, one head whined pleadingly while the other one seemed distracted.

"Yes, I'll bring her back." He replied before disappearing.

Leaving Yun and the two headed dragon; alone.


	27. Note From The Author

As usual I cannot thank you all enough for your continued support for something that truly brings myself and many others such joy. Writing isn't always easy, being consistent isn't easy, but knowing that you all are so committed to this story in particular makes me feel like validated in doing what I love. That's why I ask you all to support me in another avenue of expression, my podcast. I won't pretend that it has anything to do with the world of fanfiction (though it is definitely a topic that will be discussed on an upcoming episode) but it has everything to do with really exploring the individual and understanding human connection; something that I think all anime, manga, cartoons, comics, and yes even fanfiction focuses on.

We seek to understand the characters we love, we yearn for this sense of relatability, we yearn for the beauty of connection between characters, and this podcast is the physical embodiment of that. I won't pretend I'm a pro because I'm not I'm just getting started but I ask for your support anyway. The link is below. Subscribe, Listen, Comment & Share with people you think would be interest. I'm eager to hear from you all.

Thank you in advance. Your next chapter is coming shortly.

A Humbled Author

Esther Alexis

Podcast Name: Esther Alexis Body of an Extravert

Ep. 1. Choosing Happiness

It will be live on Google Play and Spotify by the end of the weekend we are hoping

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPDIvH-6Je0


	28. Chapter 28

She was not awake, at least not on a conscious level just subconsciously aware, now her mind could discern the difference between the two states of being due to her numerous visits to the plane.

Her being took this in relief, as life always seemed to bring her here for the revelations. She had tottered between life and death often enough to know that the pain she was feeling, the pain that overwhelmed her sense enough to have her subconscious mind forbid her from waking, meant she was alive but just barely and that would be enough.

It would be enough for her to hold onto for a bit longer while she waited for him. Because he would come. He always did.

She could feel the deepest part of herself rejoice bitterly because even as she had spent the last decade learning to live without him, in spite of him, it would seem that she would always need him. Even if it were to only placate her soul before death.

She could feel a warmth settling into her now as she came to terms with the capriciousness nature of her being.

_Sesshomaru._

* * *

"Sess…"

The battered woman moaned in pain as Serin continued to tend to her wounds in a calm and controlled state. It seemed no matter how much blood she tried to wipe away to close what wounds she could, more poured out.

She huffed in frustration; her hands were blood soaked, she was certain that they would be red for another life time as this woman's essence poured out of her like BLANK over BLANK.

The woman was hot to the touch, a fever coursing through her body with an unfrequented rage and although Seirin herself was not an easily disturbed woman, she found that her hands trembled with trepidation as she looked over her charge.

She was more than beaten; she was at the precipice of death and holding on with futile strength.

The bones that lined her stomach were broken as well as those on one side of her body. Her face was painted not unlike that of geisha but in bruises and blood, so hideously warped by the abuse that looking at her was a task in and of itself. As her lips pulled apart to let loose another moan, tears singed Seirin's eyes as she fingers twitched for her blade.

"Oohhh." the ghastly moan rang in the air and stayed there until it became stale.

Kohaku walked into the small hut they formed within a small cave.

"How is she?" Kohaku asked as he watched Seirin work over the battered woman.

Seirin flinched as if she had been struck, and sniffled, blinking back the tears and evidence of her mutiny.

"Not well. Her body is weak, broken in many places, and her breath is weak. I only know she lives by the slight rise in her bosom and by the heat that the fever spurs in her. She has lost much blood and were she to wake she would still need the best physicians in all the land and the favor of every Kami to breathe painlessly, let alone live a full life." Seirin explained morbidly.

Kohaku grit his teeth, damn those ogres to attack a young woman so brazenly without remorse. She never stood a chance; she probably fought for all she was worth and then some before finally succumbing to her wounds and their great strength.

Seirin watched as Kohaku struggled with his emotions at the news. His freckled face contorted into a mask of anger and sadness, one he did not wear in the face of all his comrades. Death was as much a part of life as breathing and every slayer would have to come to terms with this whether it was by choice or by force. For Kohaku, it was the latter; every death was like his first as he mourned for every life lost. Many would have said it was unbecoming of a slayer, of a man even but she knew better. It was because he had a greater understanding; it was because he truly knew the value of life, that no matter how many times he had watched it leave someone's eyes that his soul wept for them.

He was not like the other men who had allowed their hearts to grow as calloused as their hands. No he faced his emotions, his scars and his trauma each and every time because there was no other way to overcome them. It was his blessing and his most crippling curse, and yet she found that it was his greatest quality, his redeeming grace.

She shuddered as she felt her heart both yearn for him and his distress.

"Her death will not be in vain." Seirin breathed softly, "Yuichi and Kaito are following the beast to his campsite now, I'm sure, and she will have been a martyr for the people of these lands."

Kohaku felt his stomach turn at the thought of the already gruesome body before him, withering into a corpse. She could be a mother, a daughter, a friend, a sister.

"How long?" He muttered.

"Huh?" Seirin gaped.

"How much longer does she have?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I am….unsure. Every breath is a moment of labored torment for her, I thought…..I thought…..I thought it would be best to.." The woman felt her nails dig into the cloth at her lap as she turned away from the slayer over her shoulder.

"To what?" Kohaku asked in a detached voice.

Seirin didn't reply.

"Her life, broken and fragile, lays in your hands and you think not to source a means of transport for her to see a physician but to send her to the next world." He continued. "This is your idea of mercy? Of heroism?"

Her head snapped up as she met his gaze with her simple life's truth. "We are slayers; we are called to restore order and balance, to protect the defenseless."

"And what protection are you offering her?" Kohaku refuted quietly now as to not disturb the battered woman.

She could feel her hot and heavy tear weighing down her lashes as she raised her gaze to his. "I'm sorry but-"

"Seirin," he started in a firm voice.

"Maaa" another ghastly moan reached her ears and sent a chill down her spine.

Kohaku's eyes flew to the woman's face and then away quickly, his stomach turning.

"Her pains must be great." Seirin told him.

"But this shows that she still lives, that she is still here, that she has been holding onto her life since her battle." He countered. "Seirin," he sighed, "It is not our place to determine whether her life after this trauma will be worth living. I assure you an able body is not the valuation of fulfillment after such things." he told her, speaking clearly form his own experience. "There's been enough death tonight, if she does die than let it because the Kami saw it fit, not because we saw it fit." he muttered.

Seirin felt a bolt of energy run from the top of her head to the tips of her toes as he addressed her with such familiarity.

"Yes." she agreed in a breathless voice.

Kohaku turned to leave and could feel the heavy atmosphere in the small area take its toll. He could feel Seirin's eyes on his retreating figure, in the way he knew many of the slayers looked to him and truly he hated it. The way they looked to him like a leader, like a man that could do no wrong, as if he were not the very same boy he had always been. Yet these were his people, his charges, and his responsibility.

He turned back to face her, "You are not inhumane in your way of thinking." he told her. "Your compassion honors you. If….if she…" he struggled to say the words.

"I understand." Seirin said softly. "I will do what I can or what I must."

He left the makeshift hut abruptly then, unable to remain under such an incredible weight.

"Kami, help us." he choked.

No sooner than the words had left his lips a menacing snarl shattered the serenity of the night and tore at the sanctity of the mental safeguard of all those who heard before a vacuum of silence enveloped the area.

* * *

The terror the utter terror. Yuichi and Kaito pushed their legs against the face of the earth with such vicious strength that their muscles burned and legs ached at the treatment, and yet it they were nowhere near the speed they wanted to achieve as they ran from the heart wrenching sight they had beheld.

* * *

That sound was not one that belonged to an injured or hunting animal, no. It was the sound of the underworld tearing into the plane of mortal existence in fury.

The slayers were ordered to disperse into teams in order to gather information. They were by no means to approach the threat if they came upon it for if such a creature could rattle the earth with just a sound; its power would be too great a team of two men.

Four of the slayers stayed behind to protect their makeshift grounds as both Seirin and the battered woman were in their care, and due to their odd numbers Kohaku was alone running in the direction of the river they had been at this morning.

He gripped the hilt of the scythe at his side and hoped for a miracle.

* * *

Nothing. They found nothing. Kohaku sat before the flames with the cave and watched as his exhausted comrades recuperated their lost sleep from the night's vigilance.

Nothing. They had spread out in ach direction and found nothing but wastelands where it seemed nothing aside from nature and her disasters abided.

"What will we do now?" one of the slayers had asked in the early morning when they had all returned and been accounted for with the exception of Yuichi and Kaito.

"We have found no evidence of anything. We can do nothing for now. We must stick to our task here. Seeking out more battles will be futile." He told them.

"And what of Yuichi and Kaito?" asked another.

"We wait for their return as promised. If by nightfall they've not returned, then we  **will**  find them." He swore. "Rest now, we need everyone at their best."

He could understand their concern, that was no ordinary sound last night, one did not have to be a slayer to understand that the sound was one that would foretell of great destruction, of untold brutality and devastation. No, it was quite clear what that was and though he didn't want to believe that it was the sound their enemies could make, he steeled his resolve knowing that one way or another they would find out and so there was no need to rush. None at all.

It was then that Yuichi and Kaito burst into the small cave and collapsed onto the earth, gasping for air and tearing at their own clothes and masks as if they were being consumed by poisonous flames.

None too soon they were being aided by their comrades, fed water, and lightly stripped of their outwear.

Kaito choked on his water in an attempt to guzzle it down and speak at once. Kohaku watched wide eyed as two of the strongest men he looked met his gaze with uninhibited fear.

"Demon." Kaito coughed.

"What demon?" Kohaku and the other men urged. Seirin listen attentively as she tried to place small herbs, oils, and bandages on the men.

"A foul murderous beast," Yuichi wheezed grasping at his chest as his chest stung with the effort of his escape. "White with blood red eyes, the size of mountain, came down upon the ogre camp with great power and fury. Unholy rage."

The slayer muttered amongst themselves.

"A white demon with red eyes?" Kohaku echoed.

They nodded, "What else can you remember? What did figure did it have? That of a man?"

Yuichi wheezed and coughed as he shook his head no.

"An inu demon." Kaito said slowly, "I am sure of it. The ogres must have slighted him somehow."

Every single last hair on his body stood at attention.

"A dog demon? You are sure of this?" He asked them.

They didn't answer as they worked to catch their breath but he could not wait, Kohaku grabbed one by his shoulders and rattled him.

"Are you sure?!" He asked again in panic now.

"Yes!" the other shouted. "It was like nothing I had ever seen, ever felt. That kind of evil cannot be in the shape of a man. The kami would not allow it."

Oh but they would Kohaku knew.

He stood on unsure legs and walked with slow and measure steps towards the makeshift hut within the cave, where the battered woman lay. The other slayers continued to tend to their brethren while Seirin followed Kohaku curiously.

He fell to his knees and with the tenderness of a mother or father, he lifted the small broken woman off the ground and pulled at the blood soaked kimono stuck to her skin until part of it fell from her shoulder and hit the ground with a wet thud.

Her shoulder and breast were exposed to him now but he did not blush or seem to notice, though Seirin did. He gently held her shoulder and looked at her naked back which was littered with teeth marks and scars.

Seirin gasped in horror.

"What could've-"

A choked sob ripped through the pregnant and labored air.

"Rin." Kohaku cried. "Rin!"


	29. Chapter 29

He held her broken body in his arms and rocked unceasingly, begging for help, for mercy, for anything.

"Kohaku…" someone started behind him.

He whipped around to face them, his face a ghastly expression of torment and pain.

"Bring me water! We have to save her, we cant let her die. Not again. Water!" he roared.

The young man fell back onto his bottom in shock but scrambled away quickly. The rest, including Kaito and Yuichi, watched him engrossed.

Kohaku was rarely a man of great emotion but this was….

"What are you waiting for? Bring cloth and find more herbs! Hurry!" Seirin encouraged.

Kohaku looked up to her, his eyes raw and expressive. "Thank you." he choked.

* * *

The slayers dispersed immediately taking action. All but Kaito and Yuichi who were too exhausted to move but watched the man they considered their brother with awe and distress.

He had cried her name loud enough for everyone to hear it and they knew, at least the two of them knew for certain, that this woman had to be none other than the phantom. For his sister was married and would not be traveling alone and the only other woman he mentioned with such preciousness was the phantom, the phantom who kept strange company but had saved him from himself. The phantom who made his nights warmer and battles shorter. The only woman that could make him blush, who by not even the sound of her name could reduce the man into a boy.

Rin.

* * *

Seirin watched in shock, her face flushed from her roots to her chin as she watched the man she admired over the living corpse of a woman he so clearly loved.

Yes, loved. In what way she did not know but she found that she both pitied and envied the pair before her. She watched how he cradled her, brushing her bloodied matted hair from her face, how he whispered soft words of reassurance to her; though she certainly could not hear. How his tears washed the grime from her face and how his unceasing his prayers covered her like a blanket, though she had never pegged him for a man of great faith.

Rin. That was what he had called her.

She couldn't help but wonder as she kneeled behind him and placed her arm on his shoulder in comfort, just who this woman was. 

* * *

Of course.

Of course it was her because it was him.

It had taken the slayer very little to put it together; there weren't many beings in the world that could strike the kind of fear in grown men and slayers no less, with something as primitive as a shout of rage.

Sesshomaru, however, could.

He should have known in the way that he couldn't stand to be by the river for too long when they had found the brutalized woman, who he now knew was Rin. He should have known when his skin threatened to jump from his muscle when he heard the sound and attempted to discover what it was. He should have known the only woman aside from Sango and maybe Kagome that could do that kind of damage to an ogre was Rin; the product of their tutelage.

The minute Kaito and Yuichi had indicated an inu demon of great rage and power; it took but a second to realize who the girl was, because there could be no other possibility. The Kami had a bittersweet sense of humor and Kohaku was often the subject of their teases so naturally this would be how they would all reunite now.

She had plagued his mind for too many nights to count now, so much so that he could feel their reunion approaching. He worked harder, became stronger, and prayed that when he saw her next that they could part as friends and meet as lovers.

It was an ambitious goal, he had known this but it was not one he embarked on lightly. She was too good for him, for anyone but particularly too good for him a murderer by default. She should not be with one whose hands were so stained in blood but better him than…..than the alternative. Better than a being whose entire existence and empire was based on the destruction of life and the misery of others, how could one as white as snow stay unblemished in the river of red that a life with such a being promised? Surely the darkness would overwhelm the light until there was nothing left.

And yet, he couldn't even bring himself to truly believe that; for even as a child he could see the changes that she had brought upon the demon and knew them to be true.

He laughed bitterly into the crook of her neck as he held her.

He had been obsessed, haunted even by the thought of losing her to her Lord when they were but teenagers. He pushed his body to its limits training, becoming stronger and well versed in all things he could study but how could a mere boy, a mere man, a mere mortal compare to a being whose knowledge and power were based in millennia of experience? He couldn't and wouldn't. Sesshomaru could give her a life, she truly did not have the capacity to imagine but could he give her the love and fulfillment she so desperately sought from him?

_No. Maybe. No. Maybe? Kami, no. Kami, please!_

The thoughts had tortured him so much, he had been on a cycle of both resentment and understanding towards a man he only barely saw or knew. Until finally, he left.

He left everything he knew behind in pursuit of himself. After all, he could not only e a murderer, a slayer, a brother, or an admirer even. He had to be a person of his own, an individual. This had been his saving grace and though he found himself homesick at times, he did not regret it, it made him a man. It made him whole.

It was he in his letters to Rin, that inspired her to take a journey to find fulfillment on her own, though as a woman she would be given less leniency and opportunity. She agreed and he came home for a while to teach her all he knew, demon slaying, foraging, business bartering, map writing and reading.

He had learned then that her Lord had not visited her since before his own departure and though part of him was empathetic for her, he was pleased. Perhaps the demon had simply forgotten her or perhaps he cared about her enough to realize she would be better off without him. And he hoped in spite of his love for her, that Rin would come to this point too on her journeys but Kohaku was no fool.

Rin was determined, savvy, strong and beautiful. Nothing and no one would deny her, let alone a man. The world would be her oyster and the kami her guide as she sought her master and ultimate fulfillment. She would succeed and then she would choose.

Years later and they found themselves here. In the now.

And in the now, all of that seemed like so insignificant, so minuscule it was laughable.

What had she ever done to merit a death like this? A death like any of her deaths? They were entirely unbecoming of someone so genuinely good.

The world as they knew it then could not be just; for any and all death was unbecoming of one as good as Rin.

He stiffened as he pulled away from her as realization dawned on him.

Of course.

Of course.  _ **He**_  was coming after all, power of the sword be damned, _ **he**_  would find a way to save her. This was fate as orchestrated by the Kami. He would always find her, always save her. In the way that she had been a gift to him,  _ **he**_  was her gift from the Kami.

Kohaku lay her back onto the ground softly, the sound of her labored breathing but a whisper in the wind.

He would come for her; Sesshomaru would always come for her, no matter how long it had been. There was no doubt in his mind but not before destroying those responsible; if the ogres had been a threat before, they were well on their way to becoming an extinct part of history.

 _And me?_  The slayer thought,  _I will_  -

Screams erupted at the front of cave disrupting his thought. The battle had begun, he was here.

* * *

He could smell her blood on the earth, could feel her spirit calling to his and he went uninhibited to her. This was not a matter of who she was or who she had become; this was a matter of his power being tried. That anyone thought they could touch or destroy what was his, was something he would not stand for and for the egregious offence the offenders would be branded with his wrath, they would go pleading into the next realm. He would make it so that their very spirits were would still be writhing in pain in the next world so that they could forever rue the day that they tested him.

And that was precisely what he had done at the small camp of ogres. He had completely obliterated them and yet his fury was still untamed as he found that the blood that called to him was not there.

He had found an ogre who was covered in her blood, an obvious accomplice in her assault, and he made sure to save him for last, so that the foul vermin could see what was coming to him. The fact that her blood smelled more poignant on him than on the actual girl spoke volumes to the damage that had been done to her, so in spite of himself he cut the bloodbath short and searched for the second heavy scent of her blood.

He found her, later than he would have liked as her scent was becoming weaker, covered in herbs, and surrounded by other human scents and though it had not been his intention to come down in a fury he heard someone shout her name and a scrambling of people, before the first scents of rot hit his nose.

Rin.

Rin was rotting. Rin was dying. Leaving him. Abandoning him.

The youkai in him could not be contained. Rin!

* * *

In all of his terrifying glory, blood and water pouring over him like a ravine, the Lord of the West stood ready to claim his ward.


End file.
